Climate change mitigation and adaptation: fisheries changes from phasing out coal-generated electricity

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Canada has adopted a national climate change strategy that will eliminate coal-fueled electricity generation by 2030. The replacement of coal with cleaner sources of energy will involve ripple effects caused by job loss, new brownfield sites, and potentially unexpected changes to recreational opportunities. Boundary Dam Power Station (BDPS) near Estevan, Saskatchewan, is a coal-fired power station that is well known worldwide in a climate change context because of its carbon capture and storage program. Regionally, the BDPS is well known because it releases warm water effluent into nearby Boundary Reservoir, creating suitable conditions to host a unique recreational fishery. This reservoir is the only location in Saskatchewan that has largemouth bass, a highly desirable warm-water sport fish, and it is one of the most northerly populations of this species in North America. As a result, Boundary Reservoir has become an economically important fishery, and an important draw for tourism. Shutting down the BDPS will eliminate thermal effluent, and there is a lot of concern about the fate of the unique fishery. Our industrial partner, SaskPower, currently lacks the ecological data necessary to understand potential changes to the aquatic community associated with shutting the BDPS down, and is unable to address stakeholder concerns about the fishery. This research project will provide critical data on the ecology of Boundary Dam Reservoir to help SaskPower address key information gaps, and will provide insight into management options that may favor persistence of bass. Specifically, we will examine the distribution, relative abundance, and condition of predatory sportfish (largemouth bass, walleye, northern pike) in Boundary Reservoir, and assess the importance of habitat associated with thermal effluent. We will also determine the structure of the food web and assess prey diversity and identity, as well as niche overlap among the predatory fish species. This project is phase 1 of a planned longer-term partnership. The over-arching goal is to establish informed options for management interventions, such as changes to relative abundance of predatory fish or augmentation of the food web (e.g., habitat enhancement, altered possession limits, stocking programs).