Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Product sources Can I raise Yellow Perch in Alberta. Canada?

I'm building a small pond. It's 100'ft. in diameter and has a 12'ft.deep oval base which measures 20'x30'.It also has a 3'wide ledge which runs about 1/2 way around the pond 6' above the base.This pond is located close to a peat bog,but has a very good clay base.The pond should fill rather quickly with all the spring run-off and snow we have here in north central Alberta.My wife and I would like to stock it with yellow perch, we don't much care for trout.The only suppliers I've been able to find are trout farms. Does anyone out there know where I can find a reputable perch supplier in Alberta? Any feed back would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I guess it is a small world, welcome aboard newest member, I never thought PondBoss would have two Alberta members. The reason you cannot find perch suppliers is because it is illegal to stock them here. You will require an aquaculture license from the Gov't and are limited to the following species, Rainbow, brook, brown and tiger trout as well as Artic Char and triploid grass carp, that's it. I built my pond a few years ago. My place is near Lac Ste Anne. It's currently stocked with rainbows.

If you need any help with the permits, paperwork etc, I can post the links to everything you will need to get started. I've done a lot of research and some trial and error also, I can share some info on what has worked for me.

I suggest you take some time and use the search function on this site, tons of good info from the members here, a good bunch of people with a wealth of knowledge.
Goodluck, John

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca//deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3487//rec_app.pdf

Here is the fish culture application that you need.

Hi John, I just want to thank you for your speedy response, and for the application info. I wonder why is it illegal to raise a species of fish that is indigenous to our area? Also is there anything we can do to change it? I really don't understand our goverments thinking.Why is it that other provinces can stock thier lakes with walleye and perch, and here in Alberta the walleye fisheries are almost non-existent.Is it our local bioligists that have the say on what species get stocked and which ones don't? I would love to have walleye and perch in my pond, but it looks like I may have to buy a trout cook book! Sorry, just venting. Thanks again John, Hope to hear from you again.

Good questions, I too have struggled with the mentality of Alberta's gov't regarding fisheries. I think it's all about demand and the lack of gov't funding for any aquaculture related projects. There are only 3700 fish culture license holders in the whole province and 100 commercial licenses. A commercial license allows the grower to sell pond raised fish to guys like us and also to stock local gov't put and take lakes. Most of these licensed growers do not have hatcheries and only broker fish or have grow out operations, they all get their fish from mostly one person. That person has set the pace for what we can buy to stock our ponds. Out of the six species allowed, he only raises rainbows and brooks and therefore that's all we can have. Long story short, aquaculture in Alberta is behind the times and mostly ignored.

As for the Gov't regulations regarding native species, just have a look what they have done to the local public lakes with the cutbacks and mis-management, over-harvesting, no real re-stocking programs, collapse of the walleye, next is pike and perch. I won't even get into the issues with mountain streams and rivers.

Anyway, I don't want to discourage you from your pond,stock it with trout, they grow faster and fight harder anyway, just don't expect a lot of help from the province. With the way the local lakes are headed, I think it's more important now to promote private aquaculture.

Regarding your pond, I would suggest a few things to think of. First I would get it as deep as possible, 15 feet minimum. The ledge you mentioned, I am assuming is under water? This may cause a lot of problems with submerged weeds. Try to keep shallow water to a minimum or none at all, to avoid weeds lining your pond, don't worry you will get some anyway. The ledge will also help the great blue heron in his efforts to fish your pond.

The best thing to do now is to set out your goals for the pond and build around them, people here will provide good advice. Stick around.
John

Thanks again for your thoughts John.Unfortunatly the track-hoe and cat, have already been to my land and gone. So as it stands right now, I will be stuck with a pond that is around 12 to 13'deep. As for that ledge, It will be under 6' of water.The pond walls are sloped at a 3to1 grade. I plan on installing a windmill for aeration.The guy who dug my pond for me,says his trout pond is also 12' deep and his trout winter mortallity is quite high, because he does not aerate for fear that his kids may go through the thin ice. Though he has had sucsessful winterings without aerating.My pond is located on a quater section of land near Chip Lake, Which leads me to another question. I noticed your pond near lac St.Anne is probably a 4 hr. drive from Grande Prarie. Is your pond now self sufficient? I mean you don't need to be there all the time ,do you? How often do you check on things there? Don't mean to bombard you with all these questions, but I am curious. Thanks Steve.

Steve, there are many discussions here about the benefits of aeration, system design, run times etc. Every pond is different and there is not one absolute rule for every situation, especially with our "unique" climate and long season of ice. I had about 200 days of ice cover on my pond last year, no aeration for most of it and no fish kill. With your pond being new and not subject to nutrient loading and oxygen depleting bottom muck, you may not need any aeration for the first few years. The density of fish will also play a role in the overall b.o.d., (biological oxygen demand).
You will find many posts here from Bill Cody and others regarding aeration, Bill originally gave me suggestions when I was at your stage of pond building and it's saved me a lot of hassle and guesswork.

A windmill aerator may not be your best choice for your small pond. I have a small 1/8th cfm diaphragm style (Gast) 110 volt compresssor located at my house with 1/2" black poly water line running to my pond, connected to a diffusor suspended about a foot off the bottom. There are many styles of diffusors available, I have a Koenders 8" diameter airstone, you can get from UFA. Not the most efficient but has worked for me. Your compressor can be quite a distance from your pond (hundreds of feet) without significant air flow loss. The electric compressor will allow you to set the run times and duration vs a windmill that may be aerating when you don't want it to. I shut down my aerator completely at first ice and do not restart until spring ice off, usually mid to end of May. For my pond, winter snow removal has been key to fish survival, not aeration. Removal of snow allows light penetration which promotes oxygen producing plants/planktons to do their job. Lack of sunlight will also kill off such plants, etc which decompose and consume oxygen in the process. Since I don't aerate in winter, and I remove snow it allows for safe ice fishing and skating as well.

I re-start aeration slowly in spring, maybe 2-3 hours per day, eventually increasing to about 12 hour intervals. During summer with hotter temps, I only run the system when air temps are lower than water temps to avoid over heating the water. Run only at night or cold rainy days. Trout do not survive well over 70f water temps for very long.

Other than snow removal and some small maintainance, fish feeding, weed removal, etc, it is fairly self sufficient. Once your pond is built you will find you do not need an excuse to spend time there anyway.

As for your last question, we just moved up here in November and have rented the land/house to a couple. The young fella is an avid flyfisherman and I gave him full use of the pond, with his promise of upkeep, feeding etc.

My boys and I sure do miss it, spent a lot of time down at the pond. We didn't sell the place as my wife and I would like to retire there. We have rented a farm up here with 160 acres and it has two dugouts on it which I have been thinking of doing something with. The owner has used them for watering Buffalo and I now have a couple of moose hanging out there. I'll see what they look like when ice is off.

Post back if you have more questions, sorry I am not as technical or experienced as others here, but I am also still learning.
Cheers, John

Thanks for the info John. Its all do-able except for the 110 volt compressor, I have no power to my 1/4 of land and I don't plan on running power lines out to my cabin.Its about a mile off the road. Im planning on using solar power for my cabin, so when I do eventually have to aerate its going to have to be wind powered, I guess.Anyway thanks again for taking the time to respond. Keep in touch. Steve

Steve, I thought your pond was at your residence, no worries, a windmill aerator does work and would still be beneficial. Have a look in the Aeration section for windmill discussions. I think you will be ok for awhile especially if you keep fish densities on the low side.

Keep us posted on your progress, I will be making a trip down to my place sometime in May, if the ice is off and your pond is full we could re-locate some larger trout from my pond to give you a jump start. Let me know if you are interested and I will get in touch with you at that time.
John