RFW 281 Techniques in Aquatics and Fisheries II

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the learner will be able to:

1. recommend, justify, and successfully apply common fisheries sampling techniques to a wide variety of office, laboratory and field situations;
2. identify and interpret common issues in fisheries management in B.C., and to a lesser extent, North America;
3. collect and interpret water quality data related to thehealth of freshwater ecosystems;
4. design studies to assess health of aquatic ecosystems, using indicator organisms (fish and invertebrates) and habitat measurements; and,
5. assess sampling design based on principles of randomization, consistency and representativeness.
6. analyze aquatic habitat data and assess the requirements of different aquatic species (fish and invertebrates; continuation from RFW 280);
7. assess barriers to fish movement, determine ecological value of habitat upstream of barrier and recommend improvements to fish passage based on this information;
8. describe, recommend and justify specific stream and riparian habitat restoration and rehabilitation techniques;
9. recommend land use practices that minimize impacts to aquatic ecosystems and riparian areas, while considering the concerns of society;
10. apply understanding of basic fish biology and species specific habitat requirements to the study of fish and aquatic ecosystems;
11. assess the quality of aquatic environments based on species present, habitat measurements and water quality parameters;
12. calculate common fisheries statistics related to assessing population size and health;
13. apply ecological concepts of diversity, sustainability, restoration and rehabilitation to aquatic ecosystems;