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You don't earn the name bull trout by being shy and retiring. Big, strong, determined and smart, the bull trout richly deserves the distinction of being Alberta's provincial fish. The trouble is, decades of over-fishing and habitat loss have left the province's marquee fish identified as a "species of special concern".

"These are amazing, persistent fish who work very hard to spawn," says Kevin Gardiner, a fisheries technician with the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA). "We're finding out all we can, to make sure this fish continues to survive in Alberta."

Just how fragile are bull trout populations? The ACA is finding answers, with an innovative radio tagging study, now completing its second and final year.

A typical Bull Trout

The study focuses on bull trout populations in the upper North Saskatchewan River and manmade Abraham Lake, located in Alberta's eastern slopes about a half-hour drive west of Nordegg. Gardiner believes areas like these are the front line of the battle to save the bull trout from becoming an endangered fish or species at risk.

"There is a lot of potential for land use in this area," says Gardiner. "This is like the Kananaskis Country of 20 years ago; it's just ripe for commercial development. The more we know about bull trout, the better we can work with developers to avoid degradation of sensitive spawning creeks."

Gardiner says that studies like this one give other conservation partners, such as Alberta Sustainable Resource Development's Fish and Wildlife staff, the information they need for management and recovery plans. This could include suggestions that future resorts or road locations won't interrupt the migration route of these beautiful fish.

Radio Tagging Bull Trout

The purpose of this two-year bull trout study, among other ACA studies on bull trout, was to discover more about the bull trout's life history, its spawning habits and over-wintering locations. This was achieved by radio-tagging 38 adult bull trout and monitoring their movements.

"We knew there were bull trout in Abraham Lake and the North Saskatchewan River, but we didn't know if it was one population or two," Gardiner says. "What we found out was that one population of bull trout were using both the lake and the river as part of their life cycle, and that these fish migrate long distances to spawn - as far as Banff National Park." As a result, protection of bull trout requires the protection of lake and streams throughout the entire watershed. Without the study, this fact might easily have been overlooked.

Gardiner explains that bull trout need clean, sediment-free, groundwater-fed streams for spawning. Erosion, increased silt or changes in flow or temperature can drastically affect the number of trout that hatch and survive into maturity.

Add to that the fact that bull trout are slow to mature, and that many lakes and rivers support only a limited number of fish. Alberta also has a relatively small number of fish-bearing water bodies, so the rivers and creeks located in the area of the study experience tremendous fishing pressure. All things considered, the bull trout has some formidable odds to overcome.

"Bull trout are particularly vulnerable when they are spawning, especially if someone keyed into that," Gardiner says. "In one case, our study tracked bull trout spawning 20 km up a very small creek. You could jump across it without getting your feet wet. This kind of environment makes them incredibly easy to catch."

Today, Alberta has a zero-possession limit on bull trout, so all fish caught must be released. That's a big improvement compared to 20 years ago, when the limit was five bull trout per day per person. In this scenario, an entire spawning run could be wiped out with a weekend of fishing.

Even with the "no-harvest" limit on bull trout, unique challenges persist. In 2002, five tagged fish were identified in Owen Creek near a culvert that ran under Highway 11. Erosion had caused the gap between the culvert and the water surface to widen as much as two feet during a low water period. Three fish made the jump, while two did not and missed their opportunity to reproduce.

Owen culvert before it was fixed

ACA staff took their new understanding of this bull trout spawning issue to Parks Canada, which then involved the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Together they built a weir to correct the problem in time for this fall's spawning run. Without the knowledge gained from the ACA study, bull trout in that area would forever struggle to reproduce.

Gardiner says this is exactly the kind of benefit that comes from studies like this. He notes that once the ACA research is complete, the information is turned over to Parks Canada and/or Alberta Fish and Wildlife, so these groups can improve management plans based on timely and credible data.

ACA Data Logger Station

A data logging station at the mouth of Abraham Lake will continue to record fish movement in and out of the lake, an ongoing tool that will strengthen Gardiner's admiration of the bull trout's will to survive.

"When a fish passes by the station, it reads the individual fish's radio frequency," he says. "That way we can keep track, at least, of who's going in and out of the lake. Kind of like a parent watching their teenagers."

The Alberta Conservation Association is a non-profit, non-government association working collaboratively since 1997 to conserve and enhance Alberta's wildlife, fish and habitat. For every fishing license purchased, a portion of the funds go to ACA for conservation projects. For more information on ACA visit www.ab-conservation.com.