RAMP visits Fort Chipewyan

Jun 9 2009

Members of the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program travelled to Fort Chipewyan on June 9, 2009 to hold a community meeting and conduct a fish health training workshop.

The community meeting was initiated to present the 2008 monitoring results with members of the Fort Chipewyan community. A brief summary of each component: water quality, sediment quality, fisheries, and benthic invertebrates was presented. The meeting allowed the opportunity for community members to ask question and provide feedback to RAMP. A copy of the presentation is available in the Community Reports section under Monitoring Results.

The fish health training was conducted in support of RAMP’s Fish Health Monitoring program in Fort Chipewyan, and in response to requests from MCFN and ACFN to assist with fish health training in support of their community-based monitoring activities. Training focused on identifying common fish abnormalities and diseases, and how to sample and preserve fish tissue for laboratory analyses.

An independent contractor, Dr. Trent Bollinger, accompanied RAMP members to Fort Chipewyan to assist with the training. Dr. Bollinger is a wildlife pathologist at the University of Saskatchewan and the Regional Director of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre. The Centre is working with RAMP and the local communities in diagnosing fish abnormalities and diseases in fish samples from the oil sands region.