Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
A changing climate — bringing with it prolonged droughts, warmer waters and lower oxygen levels — is prompting a major Nova Scotia fish hatchery to adapt.
Alan McNeill, director of inland fisheries for Nova Scotia's Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, says significant changes were made following a three-month period of minimal rain in 2020.
The impact has been seen at the hatchery in Frasers Mills, located in Antigonish County. Frasers Mills is one of three hatcheries operated by the province and is home to 650,000 cold water trout and salmon that are released annually.
The drought last year, combined with warming waters, which means a lower oxygen content, has led to conditions where fish can become stressed, making them more susceptible to disease, parasites and death.
"We certainly are seeing more prolonged drought events," McNeill told CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.
Although fish are quite resilient, he says, they are able to succumb to viral and bacterial diseases, as well as parasites, when stressed.
The hatchery has records dating back to 1926 that have highlighted evolving climate trends.
Although efforts have been made to try and mitigate the situation, namely adding supplemental oxygen, more long-term solutions, such as recycling the water, are being looked at.
"Most commercial hatcheries are recirculating systems where they can control the water, they can control the water quality, the temperature, and filter the water, so ultimately that's the solution we believe for Frasers Mills hatchery," McNeill said.
"We do have supplemental oxygen now, but we really can't sustain more prolonged drought events."
He says they received a study last week that was commissioned from an aquaculture consulting firm that has provided some options to address the issue, with further discussions forthcoming to figure out how to not only put plans in place but also finance them.
"So in the long term, we certainly see recirculating water, recovering it, filtering it as a solution, and we can control, certainly, factors such as disease and water quality filtrations," McNeill said.
The federal government in its last budget set aside $647.1 million over five years to address declining Pacific salmon populations, which in part has been attributed to climate.
A report released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, meanwhile, showed that production and value in Canada's aquaculture industry fell in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sales of aquaculture products and services were down 16.8 per cent from 2019 to $1.1 billion, mainly due to lower national prices for finfish products and lower production levels for both finfish and shellfish.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.