Awesome news so I thought I would share
Pelican Lake Residents Work to Re-stock Lake
Last Updated Wed, 3 December 2008 05:14:58 PM
It may look like these guys are gearing up for a day of ice fishing. But really, they’re working to save their lake.
“When we have one of those winter kills like a few years ago, it just kills the fish,” says Vic Brown, Chairman of the Pelican Lake Enhancement Committee.
Pelican Lake has been battling winter kill for many years. A problem where there’s a lack of oxygen in the water duing the winter months. Back in 2006, the lake was a mess. With about five semi-loads of dead fish hauled from its shoreline. But now the Pelican Lake Enhancement Committee hope that aerators with more power will increase the stock back to previous levels.
“They take the air and push it into the water causing turbulance and the ice to melt,” says Brown. “That opens it up allowing oxygen to get in the water giving a supply to the fish”
Members previously bought aerators for the lake, but were disappointed by their performance. Prompting a switch to a bigger model with more horsepower.
“It was designed wrong,” says Bruce Nehring, the committee’s treasurer. “No sooner I had them in, we had to take them out since they quit running.”
The ultimate goal is to have six aerators at various points across the lake. The enhancement committee already has two in play and hope to have number three by 2009, but it will come with a price.
“We are in the process of financing,” says Brown. “They cost upwards of $10,000 and we’re in the process where we might be be able to buy a third.”
That funding comes from various organizations. From donations to provincial grants and even local rural municipalities paying for the hydro bill. But to those involved, it’s all worth it. Fighting hook, line and sinker to once again make Pelican Lake a fisherman’s paradise.
