What is The Trout Trust and its mandate?
The Trout Trust is a group formed to bridge the current gap between conservation groups and advocacy at the Ministerial level. The organization will advocate for all important issues affecting our water and fish but have, for now, agreed that the Entrainment issue is long overdue a resolution.
As there are numerous conservation groups littering this space, why do we need The Trout Trust?
The Trout Trust has 100% lobbying powers, we are bridging the advocacy gap that currently exists. We will work with other groups to take their concerns further. We are not here to displace the existing, valuable conservation groups in place. Our mandate is to not accept funding which could impact our transparency, and ability to lobby and advocate. We will speak directly to Provincial and Federal Ministers and Regulators to ensure our concerns are heard by those with decision making powers.
The Trout Trust have been advised that “anglers cannot agree” which is why we are unrepresented at the Ministerial level. We want to organize ourselves as a collective to message in a unified way that the loss of fish through entrainment must be resolved. Hopefully we can all agree on that. So let’s get on the same page on this one issue and our membership may just make waves in the other areas of concern.
How is The Trout Trust different than Trout Unlimited (TU)?
The Trout Trust (TTT) is fully funded through memberships and does not receive Provincial or Federal funding, and has full lobbying powers. Without the fine work of Trout Unlimited over the past 20 years, we would not have any data to validate the need to address entrainment. Despite the efforts of TU, entrainment has not been addressed. The Trout Trust hopes to build cooperatively on the foundational work of TU to effect change through unfettered advocacy in the event entrainment is placed on the back burner again. Unlike Trout Unlimited, organizing ‘on-the-ground’ conservation projects is not part of our mandate currently.
Is the annual TU Fish Rescue enough to reduce the effects of fish entrainment in irrigation canals?
Simply put, no. The TU Rescue is a response to the problem of fish entrainment in irrigation canals off-set from the affected rivers in southern Alberta. Whilst TTT is in full support of the TU Rescue, it does not address the ‘flow through’ of fish during the summer months and it captures only a fraction of the fish entrained following draining of irrigation canals in the fall. We believe the problem that has been going on for over 100 years should be mitigated to prevent fish from being drawn into irrigation canals. With irrigation expansion projects unfolding in the central region, the need to advocate for the fish is greater than ever.
Is The Trout Trust only focused on trout?
As most of our membership consists of anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, trout was our initial interest. For us, addressing the needs of trout and the habitats in which they live will benefit all fish species (e.g. trout, sportfish, forage fish) and the ongoing ecological integrity of the Bow River system.
Is The Trout Trust Calgary based?
No, we are Albertans. We will speak for our fish across Alberta. Our founders are located in both Edmonton and Calgary.
Entrainment is only one of three key stressors (Angling, Entrainment & Flow) identified through the AEP Cumulative Effects Modeling Group, why not focus on Catch & Release related mortality?
Entrainment of trout in irrigation canals is a long-standing stressor that has not historically had any mitigation champions or focus in the public sector, nor government. Alberta Environment and Parks has advised that entrainment is not an issue they can currently address. Although The Trout Trust is in full support of existing efforts to meaningfully address other stressors that affect trout, we believe that we need to draw attention to and support the correction of this key stressor.
The Alberta Environment and Parks has put out a tender to conduct an analysis of Trout Unlimited Fish Rescue data, shouldn’t we wait until this study has been completed before addressing Entrainment?
As of July 2024, we understand the study is complete but currently under internal review prior to public release. It is clear, however, from TU rescue data released annually since the 1990s, that entrainment of fish does occur in high numbers. We feel a summary report, while interesting, will not provide any further evidence that entrainment is a significant issue. Fish losses from the Bow River watershed via entrainment has occurred for over 100 years, and we are committed to highlighting this stressor to trout supporters and regulators and pushing towards a solution to the problem.
Flow has also been identified as a key stressor. Irrigation is the primary consumer of water from the Bow River. Fish and fish habitat are dependent on that water - does TTT oppose these massive water withdrawals?
Flow has also been identified as a key stressor. Irrigation is the primary consumer of water from the Bow River (i.e., of the water that can be withdrawn from the river for other uses, irrigation consumes 90%). Fish and fish habitat are dependent on that water - does TTT oppose these massive water withdrawals?
For now, as we are a fledgling organization, we are focusing on entrainment. As our membership and our affiliate relationships grow, we hope that our ability to focus on other trout stressors will also grow. We are, however, already in conversations with our affiliates and preparing to broaden our reach.