Entrainment

The Trout Trust is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of and lobby our government to address the issue of entrained trout, and critical forage fish, in irrigation canals across Alberta's flowing waters.

We believe that Trout belong in our rivers and should not be salvaged or left to die in irrigation canals. We are starting with the Bow River.

The extent of the entrainment problem in Alberta is currently unknown, with only a small proportion of government funding allocated to identifying the extent of the problem. At present, the Alberta Government funds external contractors with volunteer assistance to provide a short fish rescue program immediately after irrigation canal drawdowns every autumn.

We believe that exploring solutions to the cause rather than treating the symptoms is long overdue

In 2021, the AEP identified entrainment as one of the key stressors on trout populations in the Bow River but they themselves, who manage and own the headworks to these canals, have largely ignored the problem.