I swear I didn't put him up to it
Watch the last few moments of the video to see the sort of decisions G makes...
When I started diving Cultus it was just another lower mainland lake on my list. At the time I diving them to see what the bottom composition was like.
However, in Cultus, I read that there was a small fish on the threatened/endangered list: the Cultus Pygmy Sculpin. Because it is of no economic value little has been spent in researching it, in the field, and I saw this as a good opportunity to use my/our diving to contribute to the data base. DFO is doing genetic research but little is known of it's spawning behavior or interaction with its environment. These seemed to be perfect questions to work on in a lake with a max depth of 140' and a mean of about 80' and a primary methodology of observation only.
At the time I envisioned a five year plan. The first few years have been spent diving most of the eastern perimeter to better understand the topography and to observe the general biotic environment. This is where I have been able to develop a better insight into what I see and the processes behind it. It has been a bit like opening Pandora's box though, and I have expanded my understanding of habitat far beyond what I initially believed I would. Probably the biggest eye opener has been the adaptation fish species have made in regards to utilizing man made debris.
Almost each week I dive a site, observe, and then spend the interval thinking about what I have seen. Along The way I have met with DFO, another stewardship group, local landowners and researchers from other projects on the lake (there were four last summer):
Salmon enhancement (threatened species)
Milfoil research (invasive species)
Pike Minnow eradication (invasive species)
Pygmy Sculpin (threatened species)
Currently, I am planning to focus the upcoming season on observing the Pygmy Sculpin in hopes of finding its spawning sites. This is still a big unknown and I am hoping I can locate and record the where when and how's of this puzzle.
I am saying "I" a lot but my hope is that it will also be a "We" project. In the past local divers have come out for dives (slamfire being one) and the local dive community has been very encouraging of our efforts.
If any local divers are interested, our local club is planning to do weekly Wed. nite dives in the summer (starting soon) which I will attempt to hijack for the cause and I will probably continue doing weekend dives as well. The dives
are boring in the traditional sense (you have to be prepared for a fairly sterile setting), and we operate on an observation only, no harass policy (as stipulated by DFO) but there is the reward of knowing you are using diving to forward understanding.
I'm also always looking for good quality photographers. My biggest weakness is not having a camera system that takes good close up pictures in low light. I can find the Sculpin but I haven't been able to get the kind of macro images which would help tell the story of the fish in its environment.
You can read up on the project here, though I am probably going to set up a separate dedicated website soon:
Welcome to the Cultus Lake Project - manfish.ca The adventure of Grassroots Canadian Diving
