Tag & Track Project

Tag & Track

To learn about CLICee, our own CLIC designated tagged fish, CLIC here

The Tag and Track Project

Beginning in the fall of 2024, CLIC pledged to support a new project in collaboration with the St. Croix International Waterway Commission (SCIWC) and Acadia University through their ACER (Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research) Laboratory to acoustically tag and track both Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish in East Grand Lake.

What is the Tag and Track Project All About?

This project involves some of the most exciting research going on in the USA or Canada studying fish spawning habitat. It involves building out and maintaining an underwater infrastructure to collect data on targeted species of spawning fish to better understand their spawning environment and how they react within it. The T & T Project is targeting Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish.

Why is CLIC Involved?

Quite simply, because we were invited to participate. Because this project is focused on our own East Grand Lake, it is relevant to CLIC's stated objectives, to our Fisheries Committee and to our Members. Over the past number of years, some of our members have donated funds for use in supporting a ‘Fisheries’ project. To CLIC, this is a highly relevant and worthy project.

What is CLIC’s Role?

CLIC has committed to be a Project Promoter, Donor and Fundraiser. Our 2025 Fisheries Dinner was our first Promotional Activity. Our website will detail the existence and progression of the research as the project develops. The principal organizers and researchers have committed to using CLIC’s website to feature the exploits of “CLICee”, a named Lake Trout, which will be reported upon at fairly regular intervals.

How Can You Get Involved?

There are 3 ways to get involved in the Tag and Track Project:

In recognition of CLIC's support, the Tag and Track Project has named its very first tagged fish “CLICee”!! We are anticipating that, in the near future, CLIC members will be able to follow CLICee's movements in East Grand Lake, on our website! Once the technology has been put in place, CLIC will notify members of this unique opportunity and we hope that you return to our website often to check-in on CLICee
At times the Project Leads may request assistance from our members in advancing this project…from capturing new fish to tag, to providing feedback about fishing locations, requests may be varied and interesting. Your response to these intermittent requests would be greatly appreciated.
DONATING!! Our hope, whether you are a CLIC member or not, is that you will make a donation, or annual donations to this project through CLIC. CLIC has agreed to record, track and issue tax receipts for all donations received. Under US law, CLIC is a 501 (c) (3) registered charity and its charitable receipts can be used in the USA or Canada for income tax purposes.

For a printable Tag & Track Donation Form, CLIC here

General Information about the Tag & Track Project

The T & T (Tag and Track) Project was started in the winter of 2024/2025 and was designed to tag and track both Lake Trout (Togue) and Lake Whitefish in East Grand Lake, an international boundary lake between the State of Maine and the Province of New Brunswick.

The project leads are the Saint Croix International Waterway Commission (SCIWC), (a 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States and a registered charity in Canada) and Acadia University, Acadia Center for Estuarine Research Laboratory (ACER Lab), a University based in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy (CLIC), is participating as a local stakeholder and fundraiser for the project.

The project is working in collaboration with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - Penobscot Region Office, as well as the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife Branch. The information discovered in this project will be shared with fisheries managers from both jurisdictions.

This project stems from an interest in discovering, documenting and mapping spawning grounds of both Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish in East Grand Lake. Having an International boundary through the lake has often led to issues in studying the Lake by fisheries agencies in both countries. To bridge this gap, the Saint Croix International Waterway Commission has been involved in international fisheries research on the Chiputneticook Lakes region since its inception and can work in both countries seamlessly as the project lead.

The following document containing further information on the T&T Project was provided to CLIC by Neal Berry, Director, SCIWC. To access, CLIC here

Tag and Track Technology

To tag and track these fish, a modern technology, called acoustic telemetry, is used. This technology helps to track the movements of tagged fish around the lake.

How it works

A small sound-emitting tag is surgically implanted in a captured fish
Each tag sends out a unique sound signal or 'ping’
Receivers (underwater microphones) are placed in key areas around the lake
These receivers listen for the pings from tagged fish and record which fish passed by (using the tag’s ID), when it was detected and other information, like the depth of the fish.

From January to March of 2024 SCIWC and ACER Lab biologists worked to tag 15 Lake Whitefish and 20 Lake Trout (Togue) with acoustic tags. Acoustic receivers were deployed following ice out in the spring time.

Utilizing a network of receivers deployed around East Grand Lake, we can tell the approximate location of tagged fish as well as their depths. By analyzing this data, we can determine which areas of the lake fish are using during different seasons. For example, during the warmer months of the year (June, July, August, September), the lake stratifies into a warmer surface layer and a colder, deeper layer; under these conditions, fish may only occupy a small portion of the lake where there is enough deeper, colder, oxygenated water for them to survive.

The data from the tagged fish will be used to determine where in the lake these fish congregate before spawning. Fish will often stage in an area leading up to the spawn, and by utilizing a mobile tracking device deployed from a boat, we can “listen” for any tagged fish in the nearby area. If we can determine which areas of the lake fish are staging in, we’re hoping to be able to deploy gill nets and trap nets to confirm if these fish are actually spawning in that area. Both species of fish are known to spawn in relatively shallow areas, usually on a shoreline that receives prevailing fall winds. If you see any strange boats in the middle of the night with lights shining on it from Mid-October to December, there’s a good chance that research staff are looking for spawning Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish!

CLICee

Researcher Matt Warner posing with CLICee just before release.

CLICee was the first Lake Trout (togue) tagged in the Tag & Track project, and was captured on January 21, 2025 via tip-up by a helpful local angler. This togue is somehow missing the top half of its caudal fin, the cause of its wound was never determined, though it appeared fresh at the time of tagging. Don’t be fooled by the injury; CLICee is quite speedy and has been our most frequently detected fish to date, with 56,012 detections from March to early August 2025. CLICee tends to stick to the central basin of East Grand Lake, as we hypothesize that most togue like to stay around the southwestern portion of the lake known locally as the Deep Hole. However, CLICee tended to make short trips to the southern part of the lake, closer to Forest City, until water temperatures started to rise at the end of May. CLICee has not spent any time in the northern part of the lake, as it was not detected in any receiver located North of Hayes Point.

Table 1. Preliminary table depicting the distribution of detections from tagged togue - CLICee, as of the last data offload on August 7, 2025. Distribution is separated by receiver location, split into three portions: Northern Basin (North Lake Thoroughfare to Hayes Point), Central Basin (Hayes Point to Greenland Point), and Southern Basin (Greenland Point to The Arm, and Forest City) of East Grand Lake.

At the time of capture, CLICee measured 65.1 centimeters in total length (25.6 inches) and weighed approximately 4.7 pounds. The fish was caught at 4:20 PM (ET) in the exact location it tends to inhabit, at the Deep Hole, at a depth of 111 feet. CLICee was released 50 minutes after capture and responded well to the removal of the hook from angling and the surgical insertion of the tag.

CLICee undergoing surgery for tag insertion.

CLICee being released after a successful

tagging procedure.

As of Fall 2025, CLICee is the only reported fish to be recaptured (so far), being caught again by a local angler on February 8, 2025. The lucky angler kindly placed CLICee back in the water, allowing it to continue its important work of collecting data, before contacting us with the good news.