Media Releases and Opportunities
» Go to news mainMedia opportunity: Dalhousie researchers successfully breed critically endangered, ancient fish species in hopes of bringing it back from the brink of extinction
In the basement of a specialized aquatics facility at Dalhousie University, a team of researchers is working to conserve a fish that dates back 14 million years, exists only in a rural Nova Scotia watershed and is on the brink of extinction.
Biologists and technicians at the Aquatron are breeding and rearing Atlantic whitefish, a critically endangered species close to being wiped out by non-native predators, development and climate change.
The team successfully produced roughly 2,200 juvenile whitefish over the last year and are working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to release them back into a watershed near Bridgewater, N.S., in an effort to bolster the last remaining population of the species.
The work is beginning to pay off. The scientists recently released more than 150 juvenile Atlantic whitefish into the Petite Riviere watershed, the first of about 1,500 young fish that team members plan to release in the area this year.
Paul Bentzen, a Biology professor at Dalhousie, and Aquatron Manager John Batt have been tending to the fish since they arrived at Dal in 2018 and partnered with DFO aquatic science biologist Jeremy Broome, who leads the release efforts.
The team of scientists is available to discuss the project and how the careful, multi-step process of raising and releasing the unique fish species could help lay the foundation for its recovery.
-30-
Photos from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Dalhousie University are available here.
Media contacts:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Communications, Marketing and Creative Services
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
XMAR.CommMedia@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Recent News
- Media opportunity: Being involved in extracurricular activities really does matter when it comes to 'mattering': Dalhousie University research
- Media opportunity: Podcast by Dalhousie researcher and Halifax photographer looks at barriers to Nova Scotia's coastline, decreasing access to waterfronts and problems with litter, marine debris in public coastal areas
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researcher pioneers new cancer treatment ‑‑ cutting‑edge CAR‑T cell therapy
- Media opportunity: Research sheds light on the difficulty temporary foreign workers can face in securing permanent residency in P.E.I.
- Media opportunity: World's largest stores of unfrozen freshwater projected to warm and affect cold‑water habitats, geothermal energy resources and drinking water quality : Dalhousie University research
- Media release: Dalhousie University research reveals conservation benefits are doubled for reef sharks and rays in fully protected marine areas that also have strong fisheries management
- Media release: New program partners Dalhousie researcher and IWK Health to tackle violence against women
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researchers and an international team identify new strain of mpox virus in Africa that can spread through heterosexual sex and community contact
Comments
comments powered by Disqus