{"id":891302,"date":"2026-09-11T04:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/891302\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T04:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:00:22","slug":"diavik-says-more-testing-needed-before-stocking-fish-in-yellowknifes-frame-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/891302\/","title":{"rendered":"Diavik says more testing needed before stocking fish in Yellowknife\u2019s Frame Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Yet another year has gone by without any fish in Yellowknife\u2019s notoriously polluted Frame Lake.<\/p>\n

Diavik Diamond Mine and its owner Rio Tinto have been trying to restore the lake for several years to make it suitable for fish. In 2024, the companies installed a deep-water aerator at the north end of the lake to increase oxygen levels during winter months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Diavik spokesperson confirmed in a statement to CBC News last month that no fish would be reintroduced to Frame Lake this year as water monitoring continues. The company had previously said<\/a> it would maybe bring in fish this summer. <\/p>\n

Pike, ninespine stickleback, walleye and lake chub are among the species being considered to be reintroduced into the lake. <\/p>\n

More sampling is to take place this winter and Diavik says it will only move forward with stocking Frame Lake if testing shows it can sustain fish life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why are they trying to put fish in the lake?<\/p>\n

The federal Fisheries Act requires the company to offset the destruction of fish habitat at the Diavik mine in Lac de Gras, some 300 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife.<\/p>\n

\u201c[As] part of the Fisheries Act authorization you need to counterbalance the impacts you have on fish and fish habitat. So for example you can restore, you can enhance fish habitat, you can remediate an area that is polluted, and then you can create new habitat,\u201d said Tatiana Leclerc-Beaulieu, a senior biologist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou still have to monitor it. You have to make sure that your offset project works.”<\/p>\n

Leclerc-Beaulieu added that Diavik may have to try restoring fish habitat elsewhere if its Frame Lake efforts don\u2019t pan out.<\/p>\n

What’s wrong with Frame Lake?<\/p>\n

The lake in the heart of the Northwest Territories\u2019 capital has been considered \u201cdead\u201d<\/a> for decades, meaning conditions are inhospitable for aquatic creatures.<\/p>\n

\"AnYellowknife’s Frame Lake has been anoxic \u2014 or without oxygen \u2014 for decades, leading to a lack of fish. (Robert Holden\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Decades of urban runoff and the disruption of natural water inflows and outflows led to a buildup of nutrient-rich sediment in the lake. This fed plant life which draws oxygen levels in the lake down to zero when it freezes over in the winter, making it impossible for fish to survive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lake also contains high levels of arsenic pollution<\/a> from historic gold mining operations in Yellowknife. This pollution poses yet another threat to fish. Humans and their pets are also advised to stay out of the water.<\/p>\n

MLA welcomes effort<\/p>\n

Julian Morse is the MLA for the Frame Lake riding. <\/p>\n

A born and raised Yellowknifer, he says he’s excited at the prospect of fish being brought back but is not surprised to hear there has been a delay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“[It’s] disappointing to hear that they haven’t been able to move as quickly as they may have expected, but that’s science. I didn’t expect that this was going to be an easy project for them. I’d be curious to monitor how it goes,” Morse said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-891302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}