Home » Seeking Solution to Fish Survival

Seeking Solution to Fish Survival

by Jocelyn Ottenbreit
https://martensvillemessenger.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/city_hall_pic.jpg

At the May 11 Committee of the Whole meeting, City of Martensville Director of Recreation and Community Services Ted Schaeffer spoke to Council regarding a request that was received from Steve Cusson of Phobia Auto Care.

In previous years, Cusson has stocked the pond in Kinsmen Park with trout in order to provide a space for families to enjoy fishing together. The last time the pond was stocked was in 2019 and according to Schaeffer, there have been programs held at the pond, such as an introduction to ice fishing this past winter, that indicated that there is not much of a surviving fish stock remaining.

Cusson approached the City of Martensville with a recommendation to install a wind-mill aeration system in the pond that wouldn’t have any electrical requirements and would help improve the survival rate of the fish through the winter.

Several additional benefits are provided through the installation of this aeration system such as; improving water quality and reducing algae, reducing mosquito populations and reducing foul odours.

There are disadvantages as well including that this could potentially impact the safety of other activities that take place on the pond including skating, shinny and ice fishing due to thinner ice conditions created by the aeration system in the winter months. Schaeffer noted that this could be mitigated with the installation of fencing around the diffuser and more frequent monitoring of ice thickness.

Council will make a motion at next week’s council meeting and go forward from there to make the final decision about going ahead with this recommendation.

You may also like