Bruce Tufts

Dr. Bruce Tufts is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Queen's University, specializing in fisheries conservation and sustainable use of freshwater resources. His research focuses on recreational and commercial fisheries in Canada, particularly in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, with a strong emphasis on walleye, black bass, and muskellunge populations. He also explores inland aquaculture in recirculation systems to support sustainable practices. Dr. Tufts collaborates with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) through projects involving acoustic telemetry networks and tagging studies.

His teaching includes a third/fourth-year lecture course in Fisheries Biology and a hands-on Fisheries Techniques course, emphasizing applied field methods. He oversees the Freshwater Fisheries Conservation Lab, which employs advanced technologies like pop-off data storage tags and hydroacoustics to study fish behavior and migration patterns. Graduate students in his lab gain experience in both conservation research and aquaculture development.

Key research themes include fish physiology, spatial ecology, and angling impacts, with recent work highlighting migration repeatability in walleye and stress mitigation in tournament-caught Smallmouth Bass. Collaborations with adjunct professors Mark Ridgway (OMNRF) and Paul Blanchfield (DFO) strengthen applied conservation efforts. The lab actively engages anglers in tagging programs, offering rewards for recovered tags to enhance data collection.