Sylvan Lake still angling for long-term solution to goldfish problem

At AB Munis, their resolution received majority support and will be communicated to the province as such.

But in a statement to rdnewsNOW, Alberta’s Ministry of the Environment and Protected Areas says all pesticides used in Canada must be registered by Health Canada and that it has pushed the issue to Ottawa.

“There is a shortage of liquid Rotenone in North America. Alberta asked Health Canada to provide a temporary emergency registration to access Rotenone in powdered form until these shortages end. Unfortunately, the federal government denied this request,” says Ryan Fournier, press secretary.

“We will continue asking Health Canada to grant emergency approval while shortages of the liquid form persist and do what it can to increase access to liquid rotenone across the country. Rotenone does not harm other animals and breaks down naturally with no long-term negative effects when used appropriately.”

rdnewsNOW asked Health Canada about the rejection, with the department confirming that it did receive a request in December 2023 and completed its review on May 6, 2024.

Health Canada denied the request on grounds that the health risks were not acceptable.

“In this case, while both types of Rotenone products are applied to water bodies to control fish, the liquid and the powder products require different application equipment and procedures,” Health Canada writes.

“The different physical properties of powder and liquid products can result in different human health risk profiles due to the differences in handling and applying powders and liquids. Powders may pose a higher risk of inhalation compared to liquids, so the health risks vary depending on the form used and the application process.”

Health Canada notes that its Pest Management Regulatory Agency is aware of the liquid-form procurement challenges, and is working with municipalities and provinces to ensure all mitigation measures are conducted in compliance with its strict standards.

“We would also encourage municipalities to reach out to the manufacturer of the liquid rotenone formulation, Wellmark International D.B.A. Central Life Science, to voice their concerns about the lack of access to their products,” Health Canada says.

“Additionally, municipalities should direct their comments to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas which is the Government of Alberta’s authority responsible for pest issues in their province.”

Rotenone’s function is to prevent gilled creatures from properly taking up oxygen, a process that does not harm plants or amphibians.

In a positive turn of events, Sylvan Lake was able to acquire a small amount of the liquid which a municipality in Nova Scotia had leftover. The town applied it in the storm pond in recent days.

However, that doesn’t entirely negate the need for the powder, be it in the town of Sylvan Lake where there’s a risk it could return naturally or due to human carelessness, or any of the other municipalities dealing with this issue across Alberta.

“We’ve heard very little from the province since May, but they have been a great connector. Somebody from the province spoke with us at Alberta Municipalities, and connected us with that other municipality in Nova Scotia,” says Mayor Hanson, adding that it doesn’t solve the issue long-term.

“We have what we need here for a couple years, but it could happen again. There are a lot of municipalities that also need access and may not get so lucky.”

An estimated 100 municipalities are facing this issue, Hanson said she learned at the conference.

Last fall, Sylvan Lake spent over $100,000 trying to deal with the goldfish problem; crews drained the storm pond, then scraped the bottom to hopefully rid it of eggs.

Somehow, the goldfish returned once everything thawed.

“If we could’ve gotten our hands on this a year ago, the cost to taxpayers would have been substantially less,” says Hanson.

“It’s a controlled substance, which means there are pretty hefty approvals needed for any form of the Rotenone, plus it has to be done by a certified pesticide applicator.

In May, the town’s message to residents was to please not put goldfish in the storm pond or any body of water, and do not flush them down the toilet.

Since, she says there have been constructive community conversations which have opened people’s eyes to the impacts. Thankfully, however, they have not detected a case of goldfish in the actual lake, and that would be a, “gigantic,” problem, she says, if they ever did.

But there’s always a chance a bird could swoop down to the storm pond for lunch, grab a goldy, then drop it, still alive and flailing, into the lake.

“We’ll be doing daily monitoring of the storm pond and will open it up fairly shortly, then do a second application in the spring to ensure that it’s done,” Hanson adds. “We don’t foresee it being an issue again unless there are more introduced.”

Central Alberta Humane Society and other branches of the SPCA will accept unwanted goldfish, Hanson notes, so there’s no reason to ever put it into a body of water.

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by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

Sylvan Lake still angling for long-term solution to goldfish problem

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