Activity 5 - Chinook Salmon:  Too Successful?

Purpose:  To discuss the pros and cons of the continuing introduction of Chinook salmon to Lake Huron in the face of increased populations of the native lake trout.

Outcomes:  Students will be familiar with the native and current range of Chinook salmon and the history of introduction, and be able to identify advantages and disadvantages of stocking Chinook salmon under current lake conditions.

Subject: Science, Biology

Group size:  5 - 30

Site:  Indoor

Time:  45 - 60 min.

Supplies:  Chalk board or flip chart and marker; Resource Sheets (This Activity, Resource 1; Activity 2, Resource 1 and Resource 3); computers with Internet access for role-playing research are optional; North American map is optional.

Before the activity:  Copy resource sheets. Prior research by the students is encouraged. Arrange the classroom or find a spot suitable for a circle discussion.

Reference: This Activity, Resource 1; Activity 2 (Know Your Fish), Resource 1 and Resource 3; Activity 1, Resource 1)

 
http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/6358/nonnative-fish-a-benefit-not-a-burden
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/invbio_plan_report_home.html (concentrate on rainbow trout, brown trout and Atlantic salmon)
http://fisheries.org/docs/policy_statements/policy_15f.pdf
http://benthamscience.com/open/tofishsj/articles/V005/9TOFISHSJ.pdf (introduction, first paragraph)
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/fish-stocking_reform/index.html
http://hydro-logic.blogspot.ca/2011/03/bioecology-of-non-native-fish-stocking.html
http://carinbondar.com/2011/03/further-thoughts-on-introduced-sportfish-a-co-blogging-effort-with-matt-garcia/
http://www.tu.org/sites/www.tu.org/files/documents/tacklebox/questions_and_answers_final.pdf (Trout Unlimited)
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/feature/native.html
http://dawn-m-smith.suite101.com/invasive-trout-introduce-problems-a35947
http://www2.ucdsb.on.ca/athens/CharlestonLakeAssoc/Fishing.html

A QUICK LOOK

Is the continuing presence of Chinook salmon in Lake Huron a good thing or a bad thing? Students will role-play different points of view to debate the issues surrounding the continued stocking of Chinook salmon outside its native range. In the end they will make their own decision on the the fish community in the lake.

Students should be familiar with the story of the lake trout in Ontario, provided in Activity One. They should also understand the past and current role Chinook salmon have played in the Great Lakes. This can be found in Resource Sheet 1, and/or through an analysis of the latter resource links in Activity 2, Resource Sheet 3. 

READY, SET, GO!

Ask students whether they have seen, heard of, and/or fished for Chinook salmon. If so, ask them where they saw or fished for them and in what types of habitats. Ask them if they know how they got there and when. If the student has seen or fished for Chinook salmon outside of its native range (essentially anywhere in Ontario) explain that they were originally stocked there by humans. Locate the native range on a class map. If no one is familiar with Chinook salmon refer them to Activity 2: Resource Sheet 1 to see what they look like and to find out what habitats they live in.

Solicit reasons why Chinook salmon have been introduced to Ontario. As a class, briefly list on a chalk board or flip chart some negative and positive aspects of the spread of Chinook salmon across the Great Lakes, and Lake Huron in particular.

Tell the class that each of them will be assigned a role to play, and will discuss the question of whether a strong, continuing presence of Chinook is a bad or good thing from various points of view. Assign each student a role (see list below). Tell them to read Resource Sheet 1, and/or the references in Activity 2, Resource Sheet 3, as well as some of the general stocking references provided above, and then think about, research and write a short paragraph about the issue from their assigned point-of-view. After the students have written their paragraphs, form a discussion circle and have each student share their assigned role and thoughts and/or position on the issue. As new negative and positive aspects of the issue arise add them to the class list.

Role-playing Positions:

• Angler
• Non-angler, river lover
• Nature observer
• Canoeist
• Biologist (charged with protecting native biodiversity)
• Fishery Manager (charged with maintaining a sport fishery)
• Voice of a future generation (choose which generation)
• Voice of a past generation (choose which generation)
• Fishing outfitter
• Fishing lodge owner
• Fishing equipment store owner
• Mayor of a town that receives fishing tourists
• Small business representative
• Home/property owner near Lake Huron
• First Nations representative
• Environmental non-governmental organization representative
• Ministry of Natural Resources representative

Next tell the students that they are no longer in their specific roles, but are members of the general public who have been asked to anonymously vote on whether the existing populations of Chinook salmon in Lake Huron should be maintained through continued stocking if necessary. Tally the votes and discuss the winning decision.

FOR DISCUSSION

If the class voted against maintaining Chinook, discuss ways to mitigate the current situation (e.g., stop any current stocking initiatives, allowing capture of Chinook salmon but release of native species, reintroduction and stocking of native species, etc.). If the class voted that the introduction was a good thing, discuss if they think Chinook salmon should still be stocked and introduced to new water bodies.

Discuss if their decision was based on what is good for the environment or what is good for humans? Discuss whether or not environmental questions should become questions of what is best for humans?

OTHER IDEAS

Rainbow trout, another introduced species, is Ontario's most common aquaculture species. In 2006, Ontario produced 4,250 tonnes of rainbow trout worth more than $16 million. Discuss the difference between farming non-native fish in wild waters and stocking non-native fish to wild waters. Discuss issues surrounding aquaculture and the pros and cons. An ON Nature magazine article about rainbow trout aquaculture can be found here: http://onnaturemagazine.com/muddy-waters.html. Information from an industry perspective can be found here:  http://www.ontarioaquaculture.com/.

Marble Jars! (Adapted from Youth Fisheries Education Program Newsletter, OMNR, 1991)

• Activity 1: Fill large jars right to the top with marbles and/or beans of different sizes and colours (exclude lima beans). Tell the students that their jar represents a natural, balanced aquatic community with each type of marble and/or bean representing different native species. Now have them add Chinook salmon, an introduced species to the ecosystem, by adding a number of lima beans to the jar. Discuss what happens, and how, in order to make room for new species, a number of other individuals or species (if all of one type of marble or bean is completely removed) are eliminated.

Illustration credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Activity 2: Next, have the students fill their jars right to the top, including the introduced Chinook salmon (the lima beans). Tell the students that their jars represent Lake Ontario. Explain that Atlantic salmon which were native to Lake Ontario were extirpated (eliminated from that part of their range) by the late 1800s, due to commercial over-harvest, by-catch (unintentional harvest with other species), and habitat fragmentation and loss. Furthermore, their traditional prey, lake herring, were being replaced by non-native alewife and rainbow smelt In the early 1970s, Chinook salmon were introduced to the Lake Ontario watershed in order to control alewife and smelt. Currently, conservation partners are trying to re-establish Atlantic salmon to their native Lake Ontario and tributary habitat (pictures below). Due to some ecological similarities, Chinook salmon can compete with Atlantic salmon for food and spawning habitat. Challenge the students to remove the Chinook salmon (lima beans) without "harming" the rest of the contents (i.e. having them spill out). Tell them for every Chinook they remove they are allowed to add an Atlantic salmon (a new type of marble or bean). Discuss how this can be difficult. Have the students come up with real-life ways to remove the Chinooks without harming the rest of the ecosystem (e.g. allowing fishing for Chinook salmon but mandatory release of Atlantic salmon, netting and removing Chinook salmon early in their spawning run, etc.).

For information on the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program and the Classroom Hatchery Program visit http://www.bringbackthesalmon.ca

Classroom display by students raising Atlantic salmon at James Strath School.  Photo courtesy of www.bringbackthesalmon.ca

Streamside release of classroom-rasised Atlantc salmon by students of Alton Public School.  Photo courtesy of www.bringbackthesalmon.ca