Rainbow Trout Migration Patterns in the Saugeen River Watershed

Bunt, C.M. and B. Jacobson. 2024. Adfluvial migration and passage of Steelhead before and after dam removal at a major Great Lakes tributary. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 12:1346712.

The goal of this study is to investigate rainbow trout migration patterns and passage success within the Saugeen River watershed, with a focus on the impacts of the removal of the Truax Dam in Walkerton, Ontario. Baseline phases of this study were conducted in Spring 2018, Fall/Winter 2018/2019 and Spring 2019. In each phase 50 adult rainbow trout were captured at the Denny's Dam fishway in Southampton, implanted with coded radio transmitters and tracked throughout the watershed (Saugeen River and associated tributaries) using a combination of mobile telemetry, fixed tracking stations, and aerial telemetry surveys.

The Truax Dam was removed in August 2019 as part of a fisheries offset and compensation project. Post-removal radiotelemetry phases began in Fall/Winter 2019/2020 and continue to-date. The data collected has provided valuable insight regarding inter-seasonal and inter-annual variation in rainbow trout migration patterns and motivation, use of spawning areas and other habitats, and the impact of potential barriers (Denny's Dam, Truax Dam/footprint, Carrick Dam, Maple Hill Dam) within the Saugeen River for continued upstream migration.

Find additional details regarding the fisheries offset and compensation project here, the biomass electrofishing survey component of this project here, the redd count survey component here, and the videographic survey component here.

The most recent annual summary of all project component findings to-date (Summer 2024) can be found here.
A detailed summary of all radiotelemetry findings to 2022 can be found here. The March 2024 publication of all radiotelemetry results can be accessed through the link at the top of the page.