Science Advisory Report  2010/050

Recovery potential assessment of Lake Sturgeon: Nelson River populations (Designatable Unit 3)

Summary

• Six Management Units (MUs) have been identified for DU3: MU1 is located between Playgreen Lake and Whitemud Falls, MU2 between Whitemud Falls and Kelsey Generating Station (GS), MU3 between Kelsey GS and Kettle GS, MU4 between Kettle GS and Long Spruce GS, MU5 between Long Spruce GS and Limestone GS and MU6 between Limestone GS and Hudson Bay.
• Available data and expert opinion indicates that Lake Sturgeon abundance in DU3 ranges from very low to moderate.
• In MU1, the current status is critical, population trajectory is increasing due to stocking but recovery potential is low for the indigenous population and unknown for the stocked population.
• The status, trend and recovery potential of MU2 is cautious, stable or possibly increasing and moderate, respectively.
• The status, trend and recovery potential of MU3 is cautious, unknown and moderate, respectively.
• In MUs 4 and 5, population status is critical, trajectory is unknown and recovery potential is low.
• The status of MU6 is healthy, trajectory is unknown and recovery potential is high.
• Survival and recovery of Lake Sturgeon in DU3 depend on maintaining the functional attributes of habitat, including the ecologically-based flow regimes needed for spawning, egg incubation, juvenile rearing, summer feeding and overwintering, as well as migration routes between these habitats.
• The long-term recovery goal for DU3 is to protect and maintain healthy, viable populations of Lake Sturgeon in all MUs in the Nelson River system.
• The most important current threats to survival and recovery of Lake Sturgeon in DU3 are habitat degradation or loss resulting from the presence of dams/impoundments and other barriers, mortality, injury or reduced survival resulting from fishing, and population fragmentation resulting from the presence of dams/impoundments and other barriers.
• Mitigation measures that would aid recovery include prevention of mortality, protection of habitat and public education.
• Activities that damage or destroy functional components of habitat or key life components of the life cycle pose a very high risk to the survival or recovery of Lake Sturgeon in MUs 1, 4 and 5, a moderate to high risk in MUs 2 and 3 and a moderate risk in MU6.

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