Invasive Fish and Prohibited Bait Species

Invasive Fish Project

In 2006, the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) and Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP) hired local youth to travel around southwest Nova Scotia with an aquarium. They showed people what healthy trout look like and talked about the negative impacts invasive species like smallmouth bass and chain pickerel have on the ecosystem. Twenty-four waterside educational signs were installed in the Mersey and Annapolis watersheds at places where people launch fishing boats. These signs show where invasive species have been introduced and encourage keeping waterways free of invasive fish for better trout fishing. MTRI and CARP also developed a network of volunteer anglers who report locations of invasive fish so they can be tracked in a database. Contact MTRI by phone (1-866-727-3447) or email (info@merseytobeatic.ca) to learn more.