Page 8 - Eureka 2011

Cooke ‘gone fishing’

Research news for conservation

answers

By Susan Hickman

n the eve of his departure for on determining the consequences of Georgia Strait off Vancouver Island or
OJapan, associate biology and natural and human-induced stressors the Lower Fraser River. Surprisingly,
environmental science professor Steven on fish. Their aim is to apply this there are common challenges
Cooke is chatting about angling to fundamental knowledge to aquatic experienced by fish in all these
Hedrik Wechelka, education director for conservation and management. environments.
Muskies Canada Ottawa. Wechelka has Cooke is dedicated to the new According to Cooke, when it comes
just slipped a cheque for $5,245.90 onto discipline of “conservation physiology,” to recreational fishing, the problems
the table. The gesture is but a sample which seeks to understand the occurring in fish populations generally
of how Cooke and his 25-member fish mechanisms underlying conservation fall through the cracks.
ecology and conservation physiology issues. “People think of big boats and
laboratory engage stakeholders in his He has been interested in fishing huge nets and think that is where
important research into fish behaviour. since he was, well, a tadpole. He the bulk of fish come from, whereas
Muskies Canada has raised upwards inherited his grandpa’s tackle box recreational fishing is quite large. We
of $40,000 over the past couple of and watched intently when his fishing estimate globally that 40 billion fish
years and its enthusiastic members heroes appeared on television. When are caught by recreational anglers each
assist Cooke and his team to catch he was in high school, he spent a year and 10 per cent of the population
the fish they need for their work. summer working with the Grand participates in this.”
Federal agencies, non-governmental River Conservation Authority in Anglers may not be aware of the
organizations, fisheries managers, southwestern Ontario. effects of catching and releasing their
angling clubs, the community in “I realized at some point,” Cooke “big ones,” Cooke adds.
general, and NSERC have also says, “that I couldn’t be a professional “At least in the developed world,
contributed monies. The Ontario fisherman, so I turned to university and about two-thirds of the fish that are
Ministry of Research and Innovation research. Now, I can legitimately use caught are released. Depending on how
(OMRI) alone put up $150,000 over grant funds to buy fishing equipment!” anglers handle the fish, there can be
three years (2008 to 2011) for Cooke’s Indeed, Cooke’s fishing (that is, mortality. We are trying to determine
work on inland recreational fisheries. research) equipment mostly comprises the air exposure threshold. In a study
Cooke, who has been teaching boats and nets and fishing rods, a of bonefish in the Bahamas, we found
environmental science, aquatic handful of trucks and a pile of camping that 40 per cent of the fish caught
restoration, marine biology and gear. and released were eaten by predators
fish conservation at Carleton since “Our lab is known for studying fish within 30 minutes because of loss of
2005, mostly studies fish in the field, in the wild,” adds Cooke. “We work with equilibrium caused by air exposure.”
but his laboratory also researches tools we can use in the field, like radio Passionate about enhancing
freshwater and marine fishes in and acoustic tags, and underwater conservation initiatives and
tanks and experimental ponds. Three cameras to monitor fish. We go to management, Cooke is embarking
post-doctoral fellows, a lab manager where the fish are, take blood samples on a one-year sabbatical to build
and biologist, at least a dozen and monitor their heart rates in some collaborations and initiate pilot
graduate students and several more cases.” projects, particularly in such countries
undergraduate thesis students and And so, if you ask Cooke where his as Brazil and India.
research assistants primarily focus lab is, he’ll tell you the Bahamas, the

8 fall 2011