NWT fishing guide to include arsenic info
Brochure with map of contaminated lakes to be handed out to anglers
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources will now warn anglers of high arsenic levels in Yellowknife lakes after the territory's top doctor urged residents to catch and release fish from contaminated waters this spring.
Information on arsenic levels in Yellowknife-area lakes will now be handed out with NWT Sport Fishing Regulations Guides, and has been added to the department's website. - NNSL file photo
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A brochure on arsenic in the environment around Yellowknife will be handed out with every NWT Sport Fishing Regulations Guide distributed for the duration of this year and into the future, according to Dawn Curtis, manager of public affairs and communications with the department.
The brochure includes a map of arsenic levels in lakes around the city, and where recreational activities such as swimming and fishing should be avoided.
"The fishing licence section of the ENR website has been updated with links to the latest information on arsenic in the Yellowknife area," said Curtis.
That includes the most recent public health advisory on arsenic in Yellowknife lakes.
In May, Yellowknifer reported that the NWT's 2017-18 Sport Fishing Regulations Guide places no restrictions on keeping fish caught from Kam Lake, despite warnings from NWT chief public health officer Dr. Andre Corriveau to catch and release fish there because of high arsenic levels.
A public health advisory Corriveau issued this April used a nearly-30-year-old study to show Kam Lake was one of the most contaminated in the city, with more than 500 parts per billion of dissolved arsenic.
That's more than 50 times above Health Canada's safe drinking water guideline of less than 10 parts per billion.
More recent testing conducted by the GNWT this spring showed arsenic levels in Kam Lake were actually 240 parts per billion, although still well above safe drinking water levels.
The environment department's fishing regulations guide - dated April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 - allows residents to keep up to four walleye daily from Kam Lake and seven overall between June 7 and March 31.
While it states some fish may contain contaminants, it makes no specific reference to arsenic levels in Yellowknife-area waters.
In the spring, a spokesperson with the department stated the guide was published after the chief public health officer's advisory and added any changes to fishing regulations must be done by the federal government.
The feds contradicted this claim.
"Catch and possession limits are not influenced by or reflective of consumption advice," said Rosaleen O'Mahony, communications adviser with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Randy Straker, a long-time Yellowknife angler, said local knowledge held by many Yellowknifers is to avoid eating fish from Kam Lake, which he added is not a big sport-fishing lake.
"I suppose for a newer resident," he said. "They might not be aware of the history in some of those areas."
However, he said he's not sure catch limits should change.
"There's probably lots of different lakes throughout the territory that probably have some levels of contamination," he said, adding signs are probably more likely to catch a person's attention.
The territory's health minister promised earlier this month that signs would soon be posted at Kam Lake, Frame Lake, Jackfish Lake and Grace Lake to warn people of arsenic levels in those areas.
