Red River Telemetry Study - 2016

This project is a hydroacoustic telemetry study that is being conducted in the Red River to study movements and habitat use of a number of fish species including Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus), Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), Walleye (Sander vitreus), Sauger (Sander canadensis), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), etc. It is part of a larger six-year project entitled “Effects of nutrients and aquatic invasive species on the local fish community in the Lake Winnipeg Basin” analyzing fish movement and habitat use in the Lake Winnipeg Basin in relation to Aquatic Invasive Species and other anthropogenic changes. This project will extend this fish movement study into the US portion of the Red River by expanding the receiver array by 14 stations located in the US. The obtained information on fish movement and habitat use is crucial for Instream Flow Needs predictions and will provide previously unknown aspects of the lives of fishes in the Red River such as where certain fish spawn and when fish move to and from spawning or overwintering areas. Additionally, the board will better understand the population structure and movement of fish between the United States and Canada in the Red River Basin.