Friday, March 11, 2011

A New Approach To Stocking Lake Ontario's Salmon

With spring really just around the corner and the open water season soon upon us, let’s take a few moments and shine some light on a recently new concept on how some groups around the lake are stocking the fish we enjoy so much.

The Strait Line Anglers Club through the expertise of All Tool Manufacturing and with the funds from Suncor Energy, have been building Imprinting Pens for salmon and trout. The Port Credit Trout and Salmon Association and the St Catharines Game & Fish Association are provided these pens, free of charge, with the cooperation between clubs to strive for a quality fishery.

This year the Strait Line Anglers Club will deliver the third pen in our second generation design in Pen construction. This second generation design has the wrap around float to abate debris, improved lid design for shrinking pen netting material and built with added material specs that makes this pen the best constructed version in Ontario waters. Input in the design came from Jerry Mitrovich of the St Catharines Game and Fish Association as well as Al Van Dusen of the Central Lake Ontario Salmon Association club and Ontario pioneer in Pen stocked salmon.

In the last few years, a handful of fishing clubs and organizations in co-operation with the MNR and their local municipalities have taken the initiative to stock their quota of salmon and trout with pens.  
While many groups from New York State had been doing this for many years previously it was the CLOSA group from Wellington, Ontario that began doing this in Barcovan. Once word spread from this group’s successful endeavor, other interested parties around the Lake were seeking guidance and advice on how to start up their own pen stocking initiatives.
               
Why pen stocking? Traditionally salmon and trout have been stocked by the MNR and local clubs by simply dumping the fry in the lakes tributaries and harbors and hoping that the majority of these young fish would swim out to lake to survive and grow and hopefully return to their stocking sites in the autumn of their fourth year. Well the Great Lakes have ever been changing in recent years. Many tributaries seem to have decreasing flows and have been losing prime spawning habitat. As well, the over abundance  large flocks of Cormorant fish eating birds have been able to pick off the young fry near release sites, thanks to the clearer waters caused by Zebra Mussels.

Now With Pens, salmon and trout are now placed into holding pens in the same general release sites. Depending on the water temperatures and dissolved oxygen content, these fry are kept in the Pens for 3-5 weeks time. During this period, volunteer’s within the local clubs feed and monitor the fry and the conditions. It is also believed that during this period, the fry are able to imprint themselves to these areas and will significantly increase their abilities to come back “home” once they reach their mature spawning age. Another added bonus is that once released to the lake these fish will have almost tripled in size and won’t be as vulnerable as prey for the birds. Lets look at a photographical rundown of the pen stocking proccess

Here is what our pen design looks like

The fry delivery truck
Into the pens
Releasing the pen raised salmon safely into the lake

 Having our future generations involved is a must!






 There are now currently a number of such stocking programs all across the Canadian shoreline of Lake Ontario. For the time being only Chinook Salmon are being stocked in the pens in Ontario. Perhaps rainbow and brown trout may be considered in the near future. March is a busy month at the hatcheries as in the next couple weeks, each group’s allocated fry need to be transferred and counted within the hatchery and they need to have their adipose fins clipped before they will be deemed ready for release. There is most likely a group involved with these programs not far from you if you wish to learn more and want to lend a hand, as help is very much appreciated. For more information and to aid in finding such a nearby group please check the following links:





Additionally, one exciting event that is coming up is the Lake Ontario Trout & Salmon Symposium to be held in Mississauga on Saturday April 9 2011. Please see the above link for the Port Credit Salmon & Trout Association to learn more.