The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture will be killing invasive smallmouth bass in Dobsons Lake this weekend.
Steve Craig, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture says the species has caused a lot of harm to native fish in hundreds of lakes and rivers in Nova Scotia, and they have reduced and even eliminated brook trout and other fish populations. Anglers first reported smallmouth bass in Dobsons Lake in the spring of 2020 and previous efforts to contain them didn’t work in the long term
The goal is to stop the spread of smallmouth bass into other waterways and the department will be eradicating the species using a plant-based pesticide called rotenone. The pesticide works by preventing the absorption of oxygen in the cells of insects and fish, and water treated with rotenone poses no ongoing risks to humans or animals. It was used to eradicated smallmouth bass in Pictou Counties Piper Lake two years go resulting in the recovery of local wildlife.
Access to the lake will be restricted while the work is being done.
Smallmouth Bass were first brought to Nova Scotia in 1942 and stocked in 10 lakes in the early 1960s for recreational fishing. Today, due to ongoing illegal stocking they have been found in more then 300 water bodies.
