Wild Fish Communities, Oil Sands Region

Wild fish community data (species, abundance, diversity, length, weight) are available for tributaries of the Athabasca River (Steepbank, Ells, Firebag, High Hills, Dunkirk, Horse, Muskeg, Tar, Calumet, Dover, McKay, Alice, Red Clay, Eymundson, Big Creek, Pierre, Hangingstone, Beaver, and Poplar) and for rivers and creeks adjacent to Christina Lake (Christina River, Sunday Creek, Birch Creek, Sawbones Creek, Jackfish River and Unnamed Creek).



The composition and diversity of fish communities in these waterbodies have been evaluated over time to identify changes in the presence and abundance of fish species in areas varying in proximity to industry activity (open-pit mining and steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)), including sites located outside of the Athabasca Oil Sands deposit that are not influenced by industry. Sites located outside of the development footprint or deposit provide information on the natural variability of these fish communities over time. Baseline conditions were established through autumn surveys (non-lethal) of fish communities in 2013, 2017-2019, and 2021-present, which have assisted in tracking spatial and temporal changes in fish communities in the region. Length, weight, species identification, and external assessment were performed on each fish collected before being returned to the water at the site of capture. This monitoring activity compliments and supports the Wild Fish Health program.

Basic view

Metadata Record Information

File Identifier
3a5d44c0-3552-4834-bca4-63ef584531b4 XML
Date Stamp
2025-02-12T16:09:48.529Z
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy Level
Dataset
Point of contact
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division - ACRD Data Management Team

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
 

Data identification

Title

Wild Fish Communities, Oil Sands Region
Date (Creation)
2013-09-17
Date (Publication)
2020-01-15
Date (Revision)
2024-12-19
Status
On going
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Character set
UTF8
Topic category
  • Environment
Maintenance and Update Frequency
As needed
Spatial representation type
Text, table
Principal investigator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division - Dr. Mark McMaster ( Research scientist)

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
905-336-6906

Principal investigator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division - Dr. Erin Ussery ( Research scientist)

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
Collaborator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division - Dr. Gerald Tetreault ( Research scientist)

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
905-336-4680

Keywords

Theme

  • Oil sands monitoring

  • fish distribution

  • fish populations

  • wild fish

  • lake chub

  • slimy sculpin

  • longnose dace

  • white sucker

  • trout-perch

  • longnose sucker

  • pearl dace

  • northern redbelly dace

  • burbot

  • brook stickleback

  • fathead minnow

  • finescale dace

  • spoonhead sculpin

  • northern pike

  • spottail shiner

  • walleye

  • yellow perch

  • Iowa darter

  • Arctic grayling

  • goldeye

  • brassy minnow

  • flathead chub

  • ninespine stickleback
Subtopic Category

  • observation and measurement

  • levels and trends

  • environmental monitoring

  • cumulative effects

  • monitoring station

  • fish health

  • growth

  • abnormalities

  • survival

  • contaminants
Temporal

  • autumn

Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

  • Oil sands

  • Freshwater fish

ECCC Information Category EN

  • Water - Quality

Business Functions

  • Assess Toxicity, Manage and Monitor for Environmental Presence of Hazardous Substances and Waste

  • Monitor / Assess Substance and Waste Levels in Air, Water, Soil, Biota

Branch

  • Science and Technology Branch

Directorate

  • Water Science and Technology

Program (PAA)

  • 1.3.2. Ecosystem Assessment and Approaches

GC Security Level

  • Unclassified

Geography

  • Prairie - Alberta (AB)

  • Water - Drainage regions - Peace–Athabasca
 
Use Limitation

Open Government Licence - Canada ( http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)

Access Constraints
License
Use Constraints
License
Begin Date
2013-09-17

Extent

N
S
E
W
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Ref. system Reference Systems

Reference system identifier
http://www.epsg-registry.org / EPSG:4326 / 1
 

Distribution

Distributor
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada - Public inquiries centre

Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0H3, Canada
1-800-668-6767

https://www.canada.ca/
 
 

Overviews

N
S
E
W
thumbnail




Keywords

Arctic grayling Iowa darter Oil sands monitoring abnormalities autumn brassy minnow brook stickleback burbot contaminants cumulative effects environmental monitoring fathead minnow finescale dace fish distribution fish health fish populations flathead chub goldeye growth lake chub levels and trends longnose dace longnose sucker monitoring station ninespine stickleback northern pike northern redbelly dace observation and measurement pearl dace slimy sculpin spoonhead sculpin spottail shiner survival trout-perch walleye white sucker wild fish yellow perch
Branch

Science and Technology Branch
Business Functions

Assess Toxicity, Manage and Monitor for Environmental Presence of Hazardous Substances and Waste Monitor / Assess Substance and Waste Levels in Air, Water, Soil, Biota
Directorate

Water Science and Technology
ECCC Information Category EN

Water - Quality
GC Security Level

Unclassified
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

Freshwater fish Oil sands
Program (PAA)

1.3.2. Ecosystem Assessment and Approaches


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