Through collaboration with agency and indigenous partners (Katzie First Nation (Q̓ic̓əy̓)), our goal is to identify critical habitats for juvenile White Sturgeon in the Pitt River watershed to support management and recovery. We use robust acoustic and passive integrated transponder (PIT) telemetry methods to tag and monitor, free-living juvenile sturgeon (< 100 cm), to address uncertainties regarding the migration behaviour and habitat use of this key life stage.
Focused research completed in the Pitt River watershed across a variety of intact and altered habitat types will help discern habitat use preferences and identify critical rearing and overwintering habitats. This study will provide appropriately scaled data to develop and justify habitat protections and restoration initiatives that will be key for White Sturgeon recovery.
Actions that target juvenile sturgeon are expected to have the greatest benefit on population growth. Moreover, future habitat restoration initiatives within the Pitt River watershed can provide real, long-term benefits not only for sturgeon, but also for other native fish and wildlife.
The project team actively communicates with Katzie First Nation (Q̓ic̓əy̓), whose territory encompasses the Pitt River watershed, to provide updates and adjust the program to support the interests of Q̓ic̓əy̓.
Our team is actively working to improve and adapt PIT technology to be used to study White Sturgeon in B.C. This includes advising on more appropriate PIT tag types and new applications of PIT telemetry to designing new fix antennas that can be deployed in more challenging environments (30 m depths), sloughs, or seasonally flooded channels. Our fabrication and design team develops site-specific antennas to maximize detection capabilities given varying constraints.
