Allan Debertin is back from working aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Opilio for his field research. The research survey of the Northumberland Strait this year was very successful due to good weather and very few equipment problems. 234 sites were sampled in the Strait this year as far West as Escuminac point, NB to areas East of Souris, PEI. Many thanks extended to the captains, crew and field assistant Jesse Kelly for their help with this project.
Mike Sweezey has been continuing work this summer studying American eel on the Upper Salmon River in Alma, New Brunswick. He has used various telemetry techniques including passive integrated transponder tags and radio tags to track the movements of individual eel in the system throughout the summer. Mike has found that eel captured in freshwater in the spring have migrated to the saltwater estuary which they have utilized as a summer feeding ground. Mike will continue to tag and track individual eel this fall to determine what habitat they will utilize as overwintering grounds (i.e., will the eel stay in the saltwater estuary or move back into fresh water for overwintering). Mike then hopes to again characterize the overwintering microhabitats of individuals in the Upper Salmon River.
Jason Hallett gave a talk at was the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Study Group on Anguillid Eels in Saline Waters from September 3-5, 2009 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He also participated in the joint ICES/European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) Working Group on Eels from September 6-12. This working group focused on fisheries reporting, stock assessment and management of European eel stocks. This year there was a small delegation from Canada (3 individuals out of 34 participants), so there was a small component on the current status of the American eel.
Erinn Ipsen headed north for the summer as a research assistant in Churchill, Manitoba. In Churchill, she had the chance to further familiarize herself with marine science (and the ever present polar bear!) on the coast of Hudson Bay. Now she is starting research on the Musquash estuary, NB for her MSc project.
