Fish Health & Research Activities

Research & Development

The Society’s mandate to conserve, restore and enhance the freshwater fish resources of BC involves enhancing freshwater recreational fisheries, supporting the recovery of endangered fish populations, and promoting a conservation ethic and interest in recreational fishing. 

Meeting these objectives requires a significant amount of knowledge regarding fish biology and aquatic ecosystem health. In order to maintain high standards, the FFSBC is continually expanding its knowledge base through research and development.  The FFSBC has developed fish culture techniques for maximizing performance such as triploiding.

Ensuring healthy fish resources also requires continual monitoring and assessment of fisheries and fish populations.  Much of this work is done through the Small Lakes Conservation and Management Initiative.        

Please refer to our Fin Fact Links to other sites related to fisheries science information and education.

Protecting Fish Health

 The FFSBC Fish Health Unit plays an integral role in the Society by maintaining year round diagnostic assessments on all hatchery-reared fish to ensure that all Fish Health standards established by federal and provincial regulatory agencies are met. This ensures a high-quality hatchery fish, and protects the aquatic ecosystem and wild fish populations from exposure to disease pathogens originating from hatchery fish.

The Fish Health Unit maintains 6 cell lines year round to conduct virology assays. Three of these lines are salmonid, but the other 3 lines are white sturgeon making the Unit unique in BC. These cell lines are used in monitoring the ongoing health of the sturgeon and meeting regulation requests for the Society's conservation culture programs for white sturgeon.

The Lab is capable of performing a number of other disease screening techniques. The most recent addition is the PCR test which is a genetic-based test that confirms the presence or absence of certain pathogens. The lab can perform bacteriology isolation and basic identification of some common bacterial pathogens. A full histology lab allows for the preservation and processing of tissues in order to look for microscopic changes within the tissue which may be the result of pathogenic infections or environmental changes.