Construction will begin either this year or next at Delta Beach for an offset channel for fish breeding.

RM of Portage la Prairie Councillor Roy Tufford says they have to do this because of the new breakwater structure.

"We destroyed a fish breeding habitat and we need to do an offset to offset the amount we destroyed," says Tufford. "We have a plan to take an area of the marsh on the south side of Cherry Road. [We're going to] excavate it to make it an appropriate fish breeding habitat."

The structure was built after the flood in 2011. Tufford outlines how much this will cost.

"It's going to cost $200,000 but it's not coming out of our budget," says Tufford. "It's going to be coming from the Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) which is basically from the province and the federal government."

Tufford also mentions they have another initiative in place to help with the fish population.

"The culverts that run under Cherry Road on the channel are very big. There's been a program to exclude carp from getting in the marsh for a number of years now," says Tufford. "Every channel that runs into the lake from the marsh now has a control structure with screens to stop the carp."

Vegetation, rocks, and wood bundles will be added to provide spawning and rearing habitat for the fish once the excavation for the breeding structure is finished.