| The purpose of this research is to determine whether in-situ , early life stage developmental tests with salmonids are a valid alternative method to the procedures suggested in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations' (MMER) Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program. Currently, the suggested methods are either adult fish surveys or mesocosm studies. Both of these approaches may have inherent limitations that affect their suitability on a site-specific basis. The potential usefulness of the in-situ approach as an alternative EEM method was assessed by placing cutthroat trout embryos in hatch boxes in a creek that receives treated effluent from the Myra Falls Operations, a zinc, copper and gold mine located in central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The method consisted of installing replicate hatch boxes, containing approximately twenty-five cutthroat trout embryos at the eyed stage of development at different locations in the creek. The exposure endpoints included survival, normal development, and growth. |
