Atlantic Whitefish Broodstock Mitotyping

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) requires services for Atlantic Whitefish broodstock mitotyping. Atlantic Whitefish is listed as endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). The species is endemic to Nova Scotia and today, wild Atlantic Whitefish only exist within three small, connected lakes in the upper Petite Rivière watershed. Population abundance is unknown but believed to be critically low, and with very low genetic diversity. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has prepared recovery documents for this species, which identify expansion beyond its current range (that is establishment of another population elsewhere in Nova Scotia) as a recovery goal.

To advance Atlantic Whitefish recovery efforts, and in partnership with DFO, Dalhousie University’s Aquatron Laboratory have been housing and breeding wild-caught Atlantic Whitefish since 2018. The captive broodstock held at Dalhousie’s Aquatron derives from Atlantic Whitefish early juveniles sampled over several years from the Petite Rivière system to establish a captive breeding stock. The genetic makeup of the breeding stock at the Aquatron is unknown, but important to inform any management of the broodstock, as outlined in the recently published Status of Atlantic Whitefish genetics and recommendations for broodstock management and conservation translocation (Bentzen et al. 2025). Knowing the genetic makeup of each individual brood fish held at the Aquatron would contribute information that will help support supplementation strategies and inform the captive breeding program to minimize further loss of genetic variation and maximize genetic diversity in fish that released to the wild.

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

The contractor must apply for and have in place any required permits which may include a SARA s.73 and Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act (NSESA) permit.

The contractor must be responsible for any Occupational Safety and Health requirements associated with this project.

The contractor and those working under the contractor’s direction must have experience in the care of endangered aquatic species at risk.

The contractor must have at least 5 years’ experience in fish population and evolutionary genetics and conservation biology on aquatic species at risk

The contractor is part of an established lab with a quality track record of genetic analysis on Atlantic Whitefish

The contractor has access to the 2022 Atlantic Whitefish broodfish held at Dalhousie’s Aquatron Laboratory

The contractor has access to previous Atlantic Whitefish mitotyping data in order to perform comparisons

The contractor is willing and ready to work immediately in order to meet deliverable objectives by end of 2025-2026 fiscal year

The contractor must ensure the cost is fair and reasonable for the scope of the work