Horizon Lake Fisheries Monitoring Program

The Horizon Oil Sands project is the first oil sands mining project to remove tributaries to the Athabasca River and to provide compensation for lake fisheries due to the loss of habitat. Canadian Natural designed and implemented a monitoring program in 2008 to track the establishment and development of the lake as a productive fish habitat. Project Objectives: 1) Develop reliable fish production estimates for a selection of species in the lake to determine whether compensation conditions are met, and 2) to confirm that the lake is ecologically and physically functioning as projected.

This project includes reports on water quality, benthic invertebrates, fish monitoring in the upper Tar River and Horizon Lake, bathymetry, and fish production conditions over time, with comparisons to historical monitoring data. It also contains monitoring summaries and recommendations for future monitoring. Horizon Lake supports 10 species of fish with stable and reproducing sucker populations. There is a decreasing trend in lake production and the limited connectivity between Horizon Lake and the lower Tar River, in addition to its fish species composition may affect the lake’s ability to meet the prescribed fish production target.