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By AMANDA SMITH, FOR THE BROCKVILLE RECORDER AND TIMES
South Nation Conservation reported that 69 new species of fish have been identified within the South Nation River’s 4,000- square-kilometre watershed. The South Nation River’s 175- kilometre course extends from a point just east of Brockville to the Ottawa River near Plantagenet.
The Recorder and Times had a chance to talk to SNC fisheries technician Josh Mansell to see what all these new species really mean to the area.
Q: You are a fisheries technician. What does your job entail?
A: Everything to do with fisheries monitoring. We use various techniques to monitor the streams and the main channel. That is how we found the sand shiner.
Q: What do these species of fish mean to the area and the environment?
A: It means there is an increased diversity and a healthier ecosystem… which is a bonus.
Q: Is that a lot of new fish species in an area of 4,000 square kilometres?
A: I asked myself the same question and the number is dependent on the monitoring done in the area. This area is a warm water region, and in comparison to the rest of Ontario, we are in a high productive area.
Q: How many different families do these fish come from?
A: The sand shiner is part of one of the larger minnow families, but these new species encompass families from lamp rays to eels to pike and bass.
Q: Are these species at risk?
A: No. There was no connection to the at-risk survey.Q: By finding these new species what does that mean in terms of the environment in this area?
A: They were found in a naturalized area, and it means human beings haven’t destroyed everything yet.
Q: What do you mean by found in a naturalized area?
A: The species were found in the Larose Forest. There is little agriculture there and little community development. There is proper vegetation on the banks, the creek curves, and is not subject to sediment runoff.
Q: Are these new species a threat to existing animals in the area?
A: They won’t compete with other animals; there are no negative effects. They were there before; we’ve just found them now. They will only continue to thrive if we maintain the area.
Q: What is the importance to this area now that these species have been identified as being here?
A: This species is here and we have to be careful. We have to lend a little more protection to keep them here a while longer. We have to be aware that when other people are doing their monitoring that they realize they may not have a mimic shiner and actually have a sand shiner.
Mansell says the South Nation Conservation Authority is currently in its fourth year of a five-year rotation during which they travel through the entire watershed area and monitor the area for new and preexisting species. These newly identified 69 species of fish were found through this monitoring of the watershed area.
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