# Michael G. Sullivan

Michael G. Sullivan is a Canadian biologist specializing in fisheries, wildlife and land use management. He is known for his role in the active recovery of Alberta's collapsed walleye population. He currently serves as the provincial fish science specialist for Alberta Environment and Parks

## Biography
### Career

In 1983, Sullivan started as a junior biologist with the Government of Alberta. He currently serves as the provincial fish science specialist for Alberta Environment and Parks. His main area of expertise is in fisheries management, but he has also contributed to caribou studies and management in Alberta and British Columbia. He was part of the team that worked on restoring Alberta's collapsed walleye populations
In the mid-1990s Sullivan began serving as an advisor to Parks Canada. in the western national parks. He has is a member of the North American Journal of Fisheries Management Editorial board and currently sits as the associate editor. He is adjunct professor both at the University of Alberta and Royal Roads University, where he has acted as a supervisor to graduate students. He serves on various projects at the ALCES, a group which provides landuse and resource solutions

### Significant contributions

Sullivan was part of the team that helped restore Alberta fish populations for traditional use. Native fish in Alberta were over-harvested for decades, and walleye, pike, whitefish, etc. populations are still recovering. Since Alberta is somewhat scarce in waterbodies compared to the rest of Canada (estimated 315 anglers per lake, compared to 2 in SK, 2 in MN, and 6 in ON), and has a relatively short fishing season, the fisheries are vulnerable. Sullivan was part of the team of biologists at the Government of Alberta that came up with a framework with 4 main management objectives related to: i) first nations, ii) ecosystem iii) fish habitat and iv) recreation fisheries
Sullivan also reaches many people through the news, online videos and community meetings

### Honours

In 2019, Sullivan received the Award of Excellence from the Fisheries Management Section. of the American Fisheries Society. In 2015 he received the Alberta Chapter of Wildlife Outreach Award

### Volunteerism

Through his career with the Alberta Government, Sullivan has completed numerous occupational health and safety training courses. These safety training courses are applied volunteering at local events and as a volunteer member of the Canadian Ski Patrol. He volunteers at the River Edge Ultra Running Race, a 100 km running race near Devon where runners wade to an island on the North Saskatchewan River, requiring (potential) river rescuers

### Selected publications
#### Journal publications

* Watkins, Owen B.; Paul, Andrew J.; Spencer, Stephen C.; Sullivan, Michael G.; Foote, Lee (2019). "Dude, Where's my Transmitter? Probability of Radio Transmitter Detections and Locational Errors for Tracking River Fish". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 39 (4): 753–761. Bibcode:2019NAJFM..39..753W. doi:10.1002/nafm.10307. ISSN 1548-8675. S2CID 191163731.
* Mogensen, Stephanie; Post, John R.; Sullivan, Michael G. (2013-11-29). "Vulnerability to harvest by anglers differs across climate, productivity, and diversity clines". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 71 (3): 416–426. doi:10.1139/cjfas-2013-0336. ISSN 0706-652X.
* MacPherson, Laura M.; Sullivan, Michael G.; Foote, A. Lee; Stevens, Cameron E. (2012). "Effects of Culverts on Stream Fish Assemblages in the Alberta Foothills". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 32 (3): 480–490. Bibcode:2012NAJFM..32..480M. doi:10.1080/02755947.2012.686004. ISSN 1548-8675.
* Macpherson, Laura, Sullivan, Michael G., Foote, Lee and Stevens, Cameron E. 2011. “How Road Networks Affect Stream Fish Assemblages.” In proceedings of the American Fisheries Society 140th Annual Meeting.
* Stevens, Cameron E.; Council, Trevor; Sullivan, Michael G. (2010-02-01). "Influences of Human Stressors on Fish-Based Metrics for Assessing River Condition in Central Alberta". Water Quality Research Journal. 45 (1): 35–46. doi:10.2166/wqrj.2010.005. ISSN 1201-3080.
* Walker, Jordan R.; Foote, Lee; Sullivan, Michael G. (2007-11-01). "Effectiveness of Enforcement to Deter Illegal Angling Harvest of Northern Pike in Alberta". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 27 (4): 1369–1377. Bibcode:2007NAJFM..27.1369W. doi:10.1577/M06-011.1. ISSN 0275-5947.
* Sullivan, Michael G. (2002). "Illegal Angling Harvest of Walleyes Protected by Length Limits in Alberta". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 22 (3): 1053. doi:10.1577/1548-8675(2002)022<1053:IAHOWP>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1548-8675.
* Sullivan, Michael G. (2003). "Active Management of Walleye Fisheries in Alberta: Dilemmas of Managing Recovering Fisheries". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 23 (4): 1343–1358. Bibcode:2003NAJFM..23.1343S. doi:10.1577/M01-232AM.
* Sullivan, Michael G. (2003-05-01). "Exaggeration of Walleye Catches by Alberta Anglers". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 23 (2): 573–580. doi:10.1577/1548-8675(2003)023<0573:EOWCBA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0275-5947.
* Post, John R.; Sullivan, Michael; Cox, Sean; Lester, Nigel P.; Walters, Carl J.; Parkinson, Eric A.; Paul, Andrew J.; Jackson, Leyland; Shuter, Brian J. (2002-01-01). "Canada's Recreational Fisheries: The Invisible Collapse?". Fisheries. 27 (1): 6–17. doi:10.1577/1548-8446(2002)027<0006:CRF>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0363-2415.

#### Textbook publications

* Sullivan, Michael G., Propst, David, and Gould, Bill. 2009 “Fish of the Rockies: including best fishing sites.” Edmonton, AB: Lone Pine Publishing
* Joynt, Amanda, and Sullivan, Michael G. 2003. “Fish of Alberta” Edmonton, AB: Lone Pine Publishing

## References and links

* 1 2 3 4 5 "Bringing Back the Fish – International recognition for Alberta's fisheries science". Alberta Environment and Parks. October 2019.
* 1 2 3 4 Sullivan, Michael G. (2003-11-01). "Active Management of Walleye Fisheries in Alberta: Dilemmas of Managing Recovering Fisheries". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 23 (4): 1343–1358. Bibcode:2003NAJFM..23.1343S. doi:10.1577/M01-232AM. ISSN 0275-5947.
* 1 2 3 Sullivan, Michael G. (2002-08-01). "Illegal Angling Harvest of Walleyes Protected by Length Limits in Alberta". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 22 (3): 1053–1063. doi:10.1577/1548-8675(2002)022<1053:IAHOWP>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0275-5947.
* 1 2 Hubbs, Anne; Weclaw, Piotr; Sullivan, Michael; McCutchen, Nicole (2011-09-01). "The West Central Alberta Woodland Caribou Landscape Plan: Using a Modeling Approach to Develop Alternative Scenarios". Rangifer: 103–118. doi:10.7557/2.31.2.1995. ISSN 1890-6729.
* 1 2 Rendell-Watson, Emily (August 2019). "Lured in: Catching and cooking walleye". CBC.
* 1 2 "Government of Alberta". www.alberta.ca. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* 1 2 3 4 "Northern Pike and Walleye Management Frameworks | Talk Alberta Environment and Parks". talkaep.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* 1 2 3 4 Alberta Environment (September 2017). "Fisheries Management in Alberta". Youtube.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Northern Pike and Walleye Management Frameworks | Talk Alberta Environment and Parks". talkaep.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ "Invasive fish being pulled from Banff lakes to protect native species". CBC News.
* 1 2 "AFS Publications". American Fisheries Society. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
* ↑ "Michael Sullivan | Faculty of Science". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* 1 2 "ALCES™ Landscape & Landuse - About". www.alces.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ Rendell-Watson, Emily (August 2019). "Lured in: Tips for fishing with kids". CBC.
* ↑ Rendell-Watson, Emily (August 2019). "Lured in: A beginner's guide to fishing". CBC.
* ↑ Rendell-Watson, Emily (August 2019). "Lured in: Fishing at stocked trout ponds". CBC.
* ↑ "Lured In: from bait and hook to catch and release". CBC Radio. August 2019.
* ↑ "Alberta angler catches fish nearly cut in half by plastic Powerade wrapper". Global News. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ "Countless fish dead at Vincent Lake". LakelandToday.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ Edwards, Bruce. "Michael Sullivan, Fish and Wildlife scientist, at Lake Isle (near Camp He Ho Ha), where thousands of sucker fish poke their heads out of the water gasping for air because of oxygen deficiency in the water in March 2014". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ "Fishing in Sylvan Lake: species in need of recovery this year". Ponoka News. 2018-04-24. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ "Alberta's Challenging Fisheries: A responsibility to make systems work". sustain.ubc.ca. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
* ↑ "Human imprint destroying Alberta's lakes, rivers, and fish species: Expert". TownAndCountryToday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ "It's our lake too, eh?". Sylvan Lake News. 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
* ↑ Alberta Chapter of The Wildlife Society (May 2015). "A History of the Alberta Chapter of The Wildlife Society" (PDF). ACTWS.
* ↑ "Health and Safety Committee/Health and Safety Representative training". www.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
* ↑ "Ski Patrol Handbook" (PDF). Ski Patrol. Oct 28, 2019.
* ↑ "Volunteer General Information – River's Edge Ultra". Retrieved 2020-04-10.
* ↑ "River's Edge Ultra – 12km, 21km, 50km, 80km, or 100 km of single-track awesomeness!!". Retrieved 2020-04-10.
* ↑ Patterson, William F.; Sullivan, Michael G. (2013-09-01). "Testing and Refining the Assumptions of Put-and-Take Rainbow Trout Fisheries in Alberta". Human Dimensions of Wildlife. 18 (5): 340–354. Bibcode:2013HDW....18..340P. doi:10.1080/10871209.2013.809827. ISSN 1087-1209. S2CID 145287702.