Lake and the Old Fort River
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Fish Health of Richardson (Jackfish) Lake and the Old Fort River January 2006 Prepared for: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Fort McMurray, AB Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Calgary, AB Suite 201 – 1571 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V7V 1A6 • Tel: 1.604.926.3261 • Fax: 1.604.926.5389 • www.hatfieldgroup.com FISH HEALTH OF RICHARDSON (JACKFISH) LAKE AND THE OLD FORT RIVER Prepared for: ATHABASCA CHIPEWYAN FIRST NATION 203 – 9913 Biggs Avenue Fort McMurray, AB T9H 1S2 and CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD. Home Oil Tower – Horizon Oil Sands Project Suite 1800, 324 – 8th Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 2Z2 Prepared by: HATFIELD CONSULTANTS LTD. SUITE 201 – 1571 BELLEVUE AVENUE WEST VANCOUVER, BC V7V 1A6 JANUARY 2006 (FINAL) ACFN 1194 Suite 201 – 1571 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver, BC, Canada V7V 1A6 • Tel: 1.604.926.3261 • Fax: 1.604.926.5389 • www.hatfieldgroup.com TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................ iii LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................. vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................. vii 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 1 1.1 STUDY AREAS........................................................................................................ 2 1.1.1 Richardson Lake................................................................................................. 2 1.1.2 Old Fort River and Old Fort Bay ......................................................................... 2 2.0 METHODS ........................................................................................... 6 2.1 COMPILATION OF EXISTING KNOWLEDGE ........................................................ 7 2.1.1 Literature Review................................................................................................ 7 2.1.2 Traditional Ecological Knowledge....................................................................... 7 2.2 FIELD STUDIES....................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Fish Health Assessment ..................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Fish Tissue Sampling ....................................................................................... 11 2.2.3 QA/QC Procedures........................................................................................... 13 2.2.4 Habitat Assessment.......................................................................................... 13 2.3 DATA ANALYSES .................................................................................................. 14 2.3.1 Fish Health Assessment ................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 Mercury Concentrations in Fish Tissue ............................................................ 14 2.3.3 Metals Potentially Associated with Uranium Mining.......................................... 17 3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION........................................................... 18 3.1 TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE...................................................... 18 3.2 GENERAL HABITAT ASSESSMENT .................................................................... 19 3.3 FISH CAPTURE RESULTS ................................................................................... 24 3.3.1 Richardson Lake............................................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Old Fort River ................................................................................................... 26 3.4 FISH HEALTH ASSESSMENT .............................................................................. 28 3.5 MERCURY CONCENTRATIONS IN FISH TISSUE ............................................... 34 3.5.1 Richardson Lake............................................................................................... 35 3.5.2 Old Fort............................................................................................................. 35 3.5.3 Mercury in Liver Tissue..................................................................................... 36 3.5.4 Correlation of Mercury Concentrations and Fish Characteristics ..................... 36 3.5.5 Regional Comparisons ..................................................................................... 37 3.5.6 Potential Effects on Human Health................................................................... 37 3.5.7 Potential Effects on Fish and Wildlife ............................................................... 42 3.6 METALS IN FISH TISSUE ASSOCIATED WITH URANIUM MINING................... 42 4.0 CONCLUDING STATEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........... 43 5.0 REFERENCES................................................................................... 46 2005 Richardson Lake -Old Fort i Hatfield FINAL LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Size classes for target fish species sampled for mercury analysis.............12 Table 2.2 Fish mercury screening criteria and guidelines for consumption and protection of human health. .................................................................16 Table 3.1 Timeline for dominant fishing activities in Richardson Lake area by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation members.............................................19 Table 3.2 Timeline of physical features present in the Richardson Lake area. ..........19 Table 3.3 Fish capture results (gillnet sampling), Richardson Lake, July and August 2005................................................................................................26 Table 3.4 Fish capture results (gillnet sampling only), Old Fort River/Bay, July and August 2005. ................................................................................27 Table 3.5 Incidence of external and internal health abnormalities observed in fish captured at Richardson Lake and Old Fort River, July and August 2005................................................................................................31 Table 3.6 Taxonomic identification of parasites of fish collected from Richardson Lake and Old Fort River/Bay, 2005. ........................................33 Table 3.7 Total mercury concentrations (mg/kg) in the tissues of fish from Richardson Lake and Old Fort River/Bay. ..................................................35 2005 Richardson Lake -Old Fort ii Hatfield FINAL LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Overview of study area and the surrounding Peace-Athabasca Delta. ............................................................................................................3 Figure 1.2 Jackfish camp near the confluence of Jackfish Creek and Big Point Channel, July 2005..............................................................................5 Figure 1.3 Moose Point in Old Fort Bay, July 2005. ......................................................5 Figure 2.1 ACFN field guides, Arsene Berneille for Old Fort (left) and Rene Bruno at Richardson Lake (right) during the field programs, 2005. ..............8 Figure 2.2 Gillnet sampling in the Old Fort River, July 2005........................................10 Figure 2.3 Deployment of water temperature data logger in Richardson Lake, July 2005. ...................................................................................................13 Figure 3.1 Water quality and site habitat assessment location in the Maybelle River, July 2005..........................................................................................21 Figure 3.2 Aerial photograph of northwest corner of Richardson Lake near a traditional fishing area for northern pike, August 2005. ..............................21 Figure 3.3 One of two log jams, located on the Richardson River, August 2005............................................................................................................22 Figure 3.4 Log jam located on the Old Fort River, July 2005.......................................23 Figure 3.5 Big eddy in Old Fort River, August 2005. ...................................................24 Figure 3.6 Species composition of Richardson Lake based on gillnet sampling, July and August 2005.................................................................25 Figure 3.7 Northern pike (jackfish) captured during targeted angling at Old Fort River, July 2005...................................................................................27 Figure 3.8 Species composition of Old Fort Bay based on gillnet sampling, August 2005................................................................................................28 Figure 3.9 Condition, liver-somatic index and gonad-somatic index for fish collected from Richardson Lake and Old Fort River/Bay, July and August 2005................................................................................................30 Figure 3.10 Internal view of fish during dissection and internal health assessment, July 2005. ..............................................................................32 Figure 3.11 Focal discolouration of a fish liver during an internal health assessment, July 2005. ..............................................................................32