Science Advisory Report 2010/052

Recovery potential assessment of Lake Sturgeon: Winnipeg River-English River populations (Designatable Unit 5)

Summary

• Nine Management Units (MUs) have been identified for DU5: MU1 is the Wabigoon River, MU2 is the English River downstream of Manitou Falls, MU3 is the Winnipeg River between Norman Generating Station (GS) and Whitedog Falls GS, MU4 is between Caribou Falls GS and Whitedog Falls GS and Pointe du Bois GS, MU5 between Pointe du Bois GS and Slave Falls GS, MU6 between Slave Falls GS and Seven Sisters GS, MU7 between Seven Sisters GS and McArthur GS, MU8 between McArthur GS and Great Falls GS and MU9 between Great Falls GS and Pine Falls GS.
• Available data and expert opinion indicate that there are several thousand adult Lake Sturgeon in this DU and juveniles are abundant in some areas; there is evidence of population recovery in some MUs.
• The current status and population trajectories of MUs 1, 2, 8 and 9 are unknown.
• In MUs 3 and 4, the status is critical and the population trajectory is decreasing in MU3 and unknown or possibly decreasing in MU4.
• MUs 5 and 6 are both healthy and population trajectory is stable or increasing in MU5 and stable in MU6.
• The status of MU7 is cautious and population trajectory is unknown.
• Survival and recovery of Lake Sturgeon in DU5 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 DU5 is to protect and maintain healthy, viable populations of Lake Sturgeon in the lower English River (MU2) and Winnipeg River (MUs 3-9).
• The most important current threats to survival and recovery of Lake Sturgeon in DU5 are habitat degradation or loss resulting from industrial activities and dams/impoundments and other barriers, genetic contamination resulting from stocking, mortality, injury or reduced survival resulting from fishing, and population fragmentation resulting from dams/impoundments and other barriers.
• Mitigation measures that would aid recovery include protection of habitat, prevention of mortality, public education and ensuring no genetic contamination.
• 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 3 and 4, high to very high risk in MUs 1, 2, 8 and 9, high risk in MU7 and moderate risk in MUs 5 and 6.

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