Spiel

January 31, 2008 PIET PEETERS FINED $32,000 FOR VIOLATING THE ONTARIO WATER RESOURCES ACT GODERICH — Piet Peeters has been fined $32,000, plus a victim fine surcharge, after pleading guilty to violating the Ontario Water Resources Act. The Court heard that Mr. Peeters operated a hog operation. The two hog barns were connected by a pipe to an outdoor manure storage pit. The pipe became plugged up, preventing the flow of manure into the pit. On the night of July 10th, 2006 Mr. Peeters transferred three portable tanker loads of manure from the barns to the outdoor storage pit. During the transfer of the first load, there was a spill of manure. As a result, some of the manure ended up outside the pit, and flowed downhill into a soybean field. Due to heavy rainfall two days later, the manure entered some of the field tiles draining the field and from there entered a nearby municipal drain which flows into the Pergel Gully and empties into Lake Huron. Several hundred fish were observed to be in distress or dead due to the contamination, and several beaches in the area were posted as unsafe for bathing. Mr. Peeters was charged following an investigation by the Ministry of the Environment’s Investigations and Enforcement Branch. Mr. Peeters pled guilty to one count of violating section 30(1) of the Ontario Water Resources Act, by discharging or causing the discharge of a material that may impair the quality of the water of any waters. Mr. Peeters was fined $32,000, plus a victim fine surcharge, and given 12 months to pay. Justice of the Peace Robert Gay heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Goderich, Ontario, and imposed sentence on January 23, 2008.

New Maryland Record Bass By Ken Duke Editor, Bassmaster.com Justin Riley holds the new record for Maryland's Chesapeake Bay largemouth bass. If you could pick the conditions under which to catch a new state record fish, you'd be hard pressed to top the real-life set of circumstances under which Justin Riley broke Maryland's Chesapeake Bay largemouth bass mark. For starters, the Woodbine, Md., angler was fishing with his father, Ed. For another thing, he was fishing a team tournament, so there were plenty of witnesses, a set of scales nearby and money on the line. Finally, it was under super-tough conditions that few would have picked to produce a trophy bass. January 26th started slowly for the Rileys. They had decided to fish a section of the river called "the Spoils" and found their favorite spot covered with ice. Relying on their boat to break up the thin sheet of ice and the river's currents to carry it away, they soon had water to fish, but nothing was biting. Justin realized the most productive spot in the area — that key spot within the spot —was still covered by ice, so he backed their boat into the ice to break it up. "I was looking at my electronics and saw some fish on it as we backed into the ice," he said. "When we pulled forward, I pitched my bait (a 1/2-ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS Lazer Blade in chartreuse and lime) back to the spot and let it fall to the bottom." Riley lifted and dropped the blade bait twice, then let it sit still on the bottom. That's when the big bass decided to make a meal of it. "She picked it up off the bottom, and I set the hook," Riley said. "At first I wasn't sure it was a bass, but after several minutes she surfaced and turned so I could see the lateral line. Even then I had no idea how big she was." With Ed Riley manning the net, Justin led the fish to the boat. She came aboard at about 8:15 a.m. "I still didn't know I had a record fish," Justin said. "I had caught a nine-pounder from the river a couple of years before and knew this fish was much bigger but didn't know how much bigger." It didn't help that their on-board scale was malfunctioning in the cold or that it didn't register weights over 10 pounds. So, with a very big bass in the livewell, the Rileys kept fishing. And they proceeded to fill out a tournament limit that weighed better than 26 pounds. It was good enough for the win and, naturally, Justin's lunker took big bass honors. On the tournament scales, Riley's bass weighed 11-9, but they weren't certified. Once he realized the fish might exceed the state record, Justin and his dad went looking for some certified scales. They found them at a UPS shipping center where the bass weighed an official 11.18 pounds. For most trophy catches, the story would end there. The fish would either be taken to a taxidermist or released in the waters from which it came, but the Rileys contacted the Bass Pro Shops store in Hanover, Md., and asked if they'd be interested in the fish. They were, and after an hour-long drive to the store, the Rileys and store manager Aaron Frazier spent the next three hours gradually warming the water the bass was in to the same temperature as the store quarantine tank — a 35 degree difference! After a quarantine period, visitors should be able to view the state record in the store's aquarium. Technically, although Riley's catch is the biggest largemouth ever certified in Maryland, it's not the freshwater record. Because his fish was caught in tidal waters, Riley's bass is the Chesapeake Bay (or tidal waters) record for the state. The previous tidal waters record was caught in 1975 from the Pocomoke River and weighed 9-1. The Maryland freshwater record largemouth weighed 11-2 (about an ounce less than Riley's bass) and was taken from a farm pond in 1993. Justin Riley is no stranger to tournament competition or fishing success. For three years he fished the Bassmaster Opens series before an automobile accident sidelined him in 2007. Now he's ready to get back on the trail and try to qualify for fishing's big time, the Bassmaster Elite Series. "My dream is to become a professional bass fisherman," Riley says. In the meantime, he's pretty happy with his state record. Fin Facts Angler: Justin Riley, Woodbine, Md. Date: Jan. 26, 2008 Species: Largemouth Bass Weight: 11.18 pounds Location: Potomac River, Md. ("The Spoils") Bait: Bass Pro Shops XPS Lazer Blade (chartreuse and lime) Rod/Reel: Shimano Curado and medium-heavy Shimano casting rod Line: 12-pound-test Berkley Big Game Details: The bass hit at about 16 feet deep on a drop that fell from 11 to 19 feet Status: Maryland state record for tidal waters

January 31, 2008 FISHING REGULATIONS CHANGED IN EASTERN ONTARIO McGuinty Government Changes Bait Provisions And Consults With Local Organizations KEMPTVILLE — The Ministry of Natural Resources has changed a baitfish provision in response to concerns from the bait industry in eastern Ontario As of January 1, 2008, it became illegal to use baitfish larger than 13 cm (5.1 in.) in all of Fisheries Management Zone 18 (eastern Ontario). This change was made to limit the practice of gorge fishing, a technique that increases the mortality in released fish, but placed an unforeseen economic challenge on the local baitfish industry. After hearing concerns from the industry and anglers, the ministry has lifted this restriction effective immediately. The ministry will continue to consult with the public and stakeholders on ways to reduce hooking mortality resulting from the use of gorge fishing and to ensure the sustainability of Ontario’s sport fishery. “The bait industry and the sustainability of Ontario’s sport fishery support good jobs and ecological development across Ontario,” said Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield. “I’m pleased to work with the Bait Association of Ontario and local communities to create more opportunities for prosperous and sustainable fishing practices throughout our province.” The 2008-2009 Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary is now available from licence issuers, ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres and on the ministry’s website at ontario.ca/fishing. Before going fishing, anglers should carefully review the information outlined in the fishing regulations summary and check the ministry website for updates. “The Bait Association of Ontario is very pleased that the ministry and the Minister quickly recognized the scope of the issue and have taken these steps to help the industries most affected,” said Guy Winterton, executive director of the Bait Association of Ontario. “Conservation of the fishery is critical to our livelihood, and we look forward to further talks with ministry staff

Island municipalities favour common 'invasive species' bylaw With enforcement component by Tom Sasvari / January 30, 2008 manitoulin.ca "We are asking for support, not only for an education and promotion program concerning invasive species, but for municipalities to consider bylaws to help ensure that the reckless few don't ruin it for all," said Bob Florean, a Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) spokesperson and representative of the Manitoulin Area Stewardship Council (MASC). Mr. Florean spoke at an MMA meeting last week about the Manitoulin and Area Invasive Species Awareness Program. Mr. Florean said the stewardship council includes 13 members from various organizations around Manitoulin, including MASC, MMA, Manitoulin Tourism Association (MTA), aquaculture, agriculture, fish and game, and lake cottage associations. "We have undertaken a number of initiatives," said Mr. Florean. "One initiative the council feels is urgent is to work with the community to prevent the further spread of invasive species harmful to our ecosystems. In the past three years, zebra mussels (and quagga mussels) have taken over Lake Mindemoya, Bass Lake, and been found in Kagawong." The spiny water flea is now established in Lake Huron and in many inland lakes on the Island and the North Shore, said Mr. Florean. They compete with juvenile fish for food, and their arrival coincides with a 30 percent decline of native zooplankton found in invaded lakes. Rusty crayfish have been found in the North Channel and an unknown number of inland lakes, continued Mr. Florean. They can harm local fish populations by eating fish eggs and larvae, and have a voracious appetite for aquatic plants, impacting nursery and spawning habitat for fish. As well, round gobies have recently been established in large numbers in Lake Huron and the North Channel, and Eurasion watermilfoil has been found in waters near Espanola, Mr. Florean told those at the meeting. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is a new fish virus in Lake Huron, continued Mr. Florean. It affects most game fish and many minnow species, kills fish, and can have a devastating impact on the local socio-economic situation. "Recent studies have shown that in terms of costs dealing with invasive species, $160 million dollars per year is spent in the US to counteract the negative impacts of invasive species on their ecosystems and infrastructure," said Mr. Florean. "We have some invasive species that are here and are established, and many others that are poised but can still be kept out," said Mr. Florean. The damage caused by invasive species "will hurt everyone's pocketbooks and the enjoyment of the Island." There are over 185 new aquatic species in the Great Lakes basin alone, and many insects and plants are also invasive species in Ontario, meeting participants were told. Mr. Florean pointed to the emerald ash borer and garlic mustard as examples, noting that invasive species are spread through ships, recreational boats, vehicles, ATVs, float aircraft, and the movement of firewood, plants and soil. The objectives of the invasive species awareness partnership include making the public understand the hazards of key invasive plants, invertebrates and fish. The characteristics for each invasive species present different challenges in preventing their spread. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) is helping to deliver the program provincially under a memorandum of understanding on invasive species. "The key is to promote public awareness, and to track and monitor the spread of invasive species," said Mr. Florean. "A lot of these invasive species on the waterways come in off ships and through the seaways. And each zebra mussel will hatch 1,000 eggs, and they filter everything out of the food chain." However, the problem with invasive species is not just related to the water. "Other invasive species will come on through vehicles and ATVs and float aircraft. It is as simple as someone bringing brush, which has ash borer, from southern Ontario here," said Mr. Florean. "This is how it starts." "The local fishery is valued at $30 million and maybe even more," added Mr. Florean. "So Manitoulin and area is dependent on social economic and natural resources, such as our lakes and forests." "This is an issue that we all had better be paying attention to," continued Mr. Florean. "We need to educate people on how to prevent the spread of invasive species. And, to do this, it is integral to pull in the entire community." The stewardship council is working with the MTA and the OFAH on this issue, meeting participants were told. This past summer the group was able to hire an invasive species liaison, who provided education on the effects and causes of invasive species, and who "monitored about 30 different lakes in the Manitoulin area," Mr. Florean explained. On December 19 the stewardship council voted in favour of putting up invasive species billboards at the two entrances to Manitoulin. "The OFAH is looking at having a continuous video played on the Chi-Cheemaun educating passengers on the serious effects of invasive species and how important it is not to bring them to the Island," noted Mr. Florean. He pointed out that the MTA provided a work centre for the invasive species liaison person, and the OFAH helps source funding, guidance, technical and logistical expertise. "We need the support and help from municipalities," said Mr. Florean. "The public needs to be made more aware of the cause and serious effects that are caused by invasive species." He said the stewardship council is suggesting municipalities could do this by including an invasive species fact sheet with their tax bills to local residents. As well, "municipalities could provide free use of sites where billboards and signs could be installed on invasive species awareness, as well as help install the signs, and distribute the information-it would help out greatly." The Manitoulin area is socio-economically dependant on its many and varied natural resource values, Mr. Florean told meeting participants. These natural values are a major factor for attracting people to live and recreate here. Each new invasive species that establishes itself here can erode existing natural values and negatively impact the local economy. "It is more effective and economical to prevent the establishment of invasive species then it is to eliminate them once established," said Mr. Florean. The stewardship council is helping to facilitate and fund this awareness initiative, including the setup of invasive species awareness billboards on two main highway approaches to Manitoulin, and place invasive species signs at all area public boat launches. "This initiative requires the help of the entire community in order for it to work effectively," continued Mr. Florean. "The public can help by becoming more aware of the issue, be more careful of their actions and advising those others that are not, and report any invasive species actions that have a potential to negatively impact the area." "As municipalities, you could also consider wording a bylaw to help ensure that the reckless few don't ruin it for all of us, and partnering with us on this initiative," added Mr. Florean, noting that the stewardship council could provide examples of bylaws from other areas. "It would probably be a good idea to have a bylaw all the municipalities can agree on, so we have the same legislation on the Island," said Central Manitoulin Reeve Richard Stephens. Along with Manitoulin, "this is an initiative I'm hoping will expand toward the Sudbury area," said Mr. Florean. Ken Noland, also a member of the stewardship council, said if the municipalities passed a bylaw, it would be short-listed and detail precisely what enforcement will take place if someone doesn't take the action necessary to prevent an invasive species being brought onto the Island. If found guilty, the offenders would be charged and could end up in court. By having the municipalities pass these bylaws, it would allow the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the MNR to enforce these laws, meeting participants heard. "So when the OPP and MNR are on their normal patrols in the summer, they could charge someone for being in contravention of the bylaws?" asked Ms. Fields. This may be possible, said Mr. Florean. He pointed out, "A lot of the impacts of invasive species have already been felt, but we need to try and hold off more of these species being brought to the Island." "We (MMA municipalities) certainly need to do something and take action on this issue," said Mr. Stephens. People heard that the MNR would be willing to help put together a recommended bylaw concerning invasive species that could be used by all municipalities. "We would like to have the signs and bylaws in place before the main tourism travel season begins this year," said Mr. Florean. "And it is imperative the stewardship council know we have that municipal support and will help install signs," he said, noting the MNR has 50 signs prepared for local boat launches. Mr. Stephens indicated he was prepared to put forward a motion indicating the MMA municipalities' support for the signs and passing a bylaw on invasive species. As well, "most of our municipal tax bills will be going out in the next month or so, and it would help if we could include a one-page letter of precaution and educating people on invasive species prevention," said Ms. Fields. Mr. Florean pointed out the MNR could produce something everyone could agree on to send to their local residents. The MMA passed a motion supporting the invasive species public education initiative and indicating it would be interested in creating an Island-wide bylaw.

....Hmmmm, seems okay to me. Perhaps try again.

Lake Whitefish continue to be captured in Detroit River After an Absence of Almost a Century January 28, 2008 Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council USFWS Fisheries Biologists James Boase and Jim McFee, in conjunction with United States Geological Survey (USGS), completed a third year of pre-assessment lake whitefish survey work on the Detroit River. Sampling was conducted from mid-October through early December in both US and Canadian waters focusing particular attention on areas near Fighting Island and at the mouth of the Detroit River where it empties into Lake Erie. The location near Fighting Island will be the site of an artificial spawning reef to be constructed in 2008. The first whitefish adults were captured in the river in the fall of 2005 but we were unable to capture adults in the river in 2006 despite an increase in sampling effort. During the same period Lake Whitefish eggs were collected throughout the river using a combination of egg-mats and by sucking the eggs off of the bottom using a diaphragm pump. In the spring of 2006 and 2007 larval whitefish were collected after they hatched from eggs and began drifting in the water column. These findings helped identify locations in the river to focus effort to capture more adults in the fall of 2007 and as a result we were able to capture 13 spawning adult lake whitefish. All eggs and larvae captured each year have been incubated and reared by researchers at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center. In the fall of 2006 and 2007 they were released back into the Detroit River in ceremonies commemorating the positive changes that have been taking place on the Detroit River and have been attended by such dignitaries as Congressman John D. Dingell (MI 15), Congressman John Conyers (MI 14), Member of Canadian Parliament Jeff Watson, Canadian Consul General Robert Noble, along with number of local, state and municipal politicians. Whitefish are currently the most sought after commercial species in the Great Lakes and at one time they were harvested in huge numbers in Lake Erie. Historically the Detroit River supported a very large spawning population of Lake Whitefish and it has been almost a century since Lake Whitefish spawning has been documented in the river. The fishery collapsed for a number of reasons but spawning habitat loss and pollution were identified as primary reasons for the decline. At the turn of the century the Detroit River supported huge numbers of spawning whitefish because at that time the river was composed of many braided, shallow channels. Those historical channels were composed primarily of limestone bedrock, rock and gravel, habitats that are needed for successful spawning by not only whitefish but also many other species of native fish like lake sturgeon and walleye. Construction of the artificial reef at Fighting Island is one of the first international efforts directed at replacing some of that lost habitat in the river. The amount of pollution in the river has slowly declined since the U.S. Clean Water Act and U.S. – Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement were both signed in 1972. Ultimately the goal is to clean up the river and provide adequate habitat that will eventually lead to the re-establishment of species like whitefish and lake sturgeon.

USGS Research Sheds Light on VHS Virus in Great Lakes’ Fish January 28, 2008 Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council A devastating virus that has killed thousands of fish in the Great Lakes over the past few years is different from other strains of the same virus found in Europe and the West Coast of the US, according to new genetic research by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Great Lakes' strain of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is the only strain outside of Europe that has been associated with significant die-offs of freshwater fish species. VHSV is a rhabdovirus that is the causative agent of one of the most dangerous viral diseases of fish, said Dr. Jim Winton, a fisheries scientist at the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC) in Seattle. The virus belongs to a family of viruses that includes rabies. The disease causes internal bleeding in fish, but is not harmful to people. Winton and co-authors Gael Kurath and William Batts recently authored a new USGS fact sheet that describes important genetic information about isolates of VHSV from Great Lakes region (see Molecular Epidemiology of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus in the Great Lakes Region factsheet).Other strains of the VHS virus are found in continental Europe, North Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea and North Sea. "This Great Lakes strain appears to have an exceptionally broad host range," said Winton. "Significant die-offs have occurred in muskellunge, freshwater drum, yellow perch, round goby, emerald shiners and gizzard shad." Genetic research at the WFRC and by colleagues from Canada showed that this strain of the virus was probably introduced into the Great Lakes in the last 5 to 10 years, and that the fish die-offs occurring among different species and in different lakes should be considered as one large ongoing epidemic. The USGS genetic research also indicated that the Great Lakes' strain of the virus was not from Europe, where three other strains of the virus occur, but more likely had its origin among marine or estuarine fish of the Atlantic seaboard of North America. The strain is genetically most like samples of VHSV recovered during 2000-2004 from diseased fish in areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. The Great Lakes' strain has now been isolated from more than 25 species of fish in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Saint Lawrence River and from inland lakes in New York, Michigan and Wisconsin. Experts fear the disease could potentially spread from the Great Lakes into new populations of native fish in the 31 states of the Mississippi River basin. Also, if VHS virus is introduced into the aquaculture industry, it could lead to trade restrictions as well as direct losses from the disease. Regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada have already placed restrictions on the movement of fish or fish products that could pose a risk for the spread of VHS virus to regions outside of the known geographic range. These restrictions include requirements for viral examinations by standard methods. For more info on how to detect and confirm VHS virus: Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program.

January 28, 2008 FISH LICENCE-FREE ON FEBRUARY FAMILY FISHING WEEKEND Local Events Highlight Staying Safe On Ice And Good Conservation Practices TORONTO — Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield is inviting Ontarians to bundle up and take part in the second annual winter Family Fishing Weekend on February 23 and 24. “The licence-free family fishing weekend is an opportunity for both novice and experienced anglers to take part in local events where they can learn about ice fishing, ice safety and the importance of conservation,” said Cansfield. “I am pleased to join the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and other partners in encouraging everyone to get outdoors and enjoy this popular winter sport with family and friends where ice conditions permit safe fishing.” “Ice fishing is a great way to get the kids outside and connected with nature,” said Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters President Jack Hedman. “With more OFAH clubs coming on board to host local fishing events, we hope the winter family fishing weekend will grow to match the hugely popular summer version of this family friendly event.” During the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend, Canadian residents can fish licence-free in any public waters across Ontario, except those with a closed season. Anyone fishing licence-free must follow the conservation licence limits set out in the 2008-2009 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary. Information on these limits will be available at each participating site. Anglers should also check the summary for regulations on season closures and gear and bait restrictions, which must be observed. “I want to thank all of our partners for continuing to support family fishing weekends,” said Cansfield. “The Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association, the Canadian National Sportfishing Foundation, the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have all contributed to the success of the weekends, and their continued involvement is appreciated.” More information about the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend, including how an organization can host an event, is available at www.familyfishingweekend.com.

Conservationists take on Hamilton Port Authority Kate Harries, January 24, 2008 [/color=red]The Globe and Mail[/color] HAMILTON -- Unknown to all but a few steelworkers who fed the snapping turtles on their lunch break, nature has regenerated a blighted industrial property in the shadow of Hamilton's mills. "It's a gem," Jim Howlett, a member of the Hamilton Conservation Authority board, says of Harris Inlet. But the hidden jewel now faces extinction from a different quarter. The Hamilton Port Authority, local conservationists say, has used its federal status to shut down public comment on plans for a new shipping berth and storage facility on the site. The fight is calling into question the apparent disconnect between the city and its port. The port authority, which has already begun filling in the front of the 42-hectare Pier 22 property with dredged sediment, did not consult Hamiltonians when it did an environmental screening of the project last year. It did seek comment from other agencies, including the conservation authority. But it determined that no public input was necessary because of the location's industrial character - then approved its own environmental report on the grounds that it is a federal agency defined as a "responsible authority" under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Questions about the commercial need for an expansion of Hamilton's harbour facilities were referred to port environmental manager Marilyn Baxter, who e-mailed a section of the screening report. According to the port authority's report, the "site upgrades" will improve efficiency, although "the long-term use and specific nature of the future cargo handling facilities on this site is unknown at this time." The conservation authority voted last month to intervene to save Harris Inlet. "The port authority is using discretionary powers to say that because nobody knows that it's there, we don't have to consult the public," Mr. Howlett says. "It appears that it's legal. Well, the law is an ass. The legislation needs to change." Groups such as Environment Hamilton and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper are also calling for a curb on the port authority's powers "They see themselves as this sort of special federal creature that only really needs to follow federal rules," said Waterkeeper president Mark Mattson, who points to similar tensions over a disregard for local priorities in Toronto and Oshawa. The authorities should follow local rules in matters that aren't federally regulated, Mr. Mattson argues. Hamilton City Councillor Chad Collins agrees. "It's not 1950 any more," he said. "It's important for the port authority and the federal government to recognize that the rules should apply to them as they do to other public agencies and private organizations." Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger says that when he headed the port authority between 2001 and 2004, "we tried to work with all the local agencies as if we were required to comply with their policies. ... It certainly sounds to me that that kind of approach has fallen off the rails." Tony Valeri, the port authority's interim CEO, said in an interview that it is "always open to consultation." He said the agency does plan to preserve two "nature pockets" around two ponds at the rear of the site. Ms. Baxter said the port authority board will decide today whether to approve a plan that would involve filling in the large pond identified by the Fisheries Department, while preserving and naturalizing the channel that runs through it. The Royal Botanical Gardens has been approached for possible compensation habitat to be provided in Cootes Paradise, in the west harbour. That's not acceptable, says Mr. Howlett, who opposes any reduction of ecological resources in the polluted east harbour. On the issue of accountability, Mr. Valeri, a former Liberal cabinet minister who lost his Hamilton East-Stoney Creek seat to an NDP challenger in 2006, pointed out that his agency must address any issues raised by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or Environment Canada. "We couldn't just move forward without dealing with those issues." On the slag-filled land of Harris Inlet, a colony of black-crowned night heron nest every year, beavers build dams and coyotes raise their pups. Mr. Howlett visited it last year, and says he was astonished by the spontaneous resurgence of wildlife in an area shaped by man-made fill. "We could see hundreds of fish - largemouth bass, long-nosed gar, these are fish we want," he says. In contrast, in nearby polluted waters "we have invasive species - roughy, zebra mussels, gobie, carp. ... If we want native species to spawn, we've got to work with what we've got."

Wildlife officials propose drop in yellow perch limit Steve Pollick / Sunday, January 27, 2008 toledoblade.com A reduction of the sportfishing creel limit for yellow perch in western Lake Erie from 30 to 25 a day and closure of the western basin to commercial trapnetting of yellow perch is under consideration by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The proposals are necessary now, fisheries managers contend, because of an anticipated, further reduction in Ohio's perch catch-quota for 2008 and because anglers in the basin exceeded their share of the quota by more than 20 percent in 2007. Ohio's daily sport creel limit of 30 yellow perch would remain in effect in the central basin of the lake, or roughly east of Huron. The reduction and closure could be in force for just one fishing season, the state said, but consideration of the plan now is necessary because of the time-lag in rules-making procedures. The Lake Erie Committee of the Ann Arbor-based Great Lakes Fishery Commission is set to consider lowering the lakewide yellow perch quotas on March 18. The committee consists of fisheries representatives of Ohio, Ontario, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. If enacted the new restrictions would take effect for the commercial trapnetting season opener on May 1. The creel reduction for sport catching would take effect July 1, which is well ahead of the major perch fishing activity in the western basin, which usually cranks up in August and continues until late fall. The proposals come on the heels of a contentious but newly enacted Amended Senate Bill 77, which took effect Oct. 10 and was aimed at ironing out some issues with commercial catch-reporting and monitoring after a perch net-industry racketeering scandal. A task force, formed under the law to recommend ways to implement it, completed its work in late fall but the Strickland administration has not signed off on it. "It couldn't have come at a worse time," said Jim Marshall, assistant chief of the wildlife division, on the prospect of a reduced perch lakewide quota and a need for more restrictions. Marshall said he expects a quota reduction for the western basin of about 20 percent on March 18 from the GLFC. That means the proposals must be presented to the rules-making Ohio Wildlife Council on Feb. 6. The Council will have to decide the issue at its April 2 meeting, after district and statewide open houses and a hearing, to complete the rules process in time for a July 1 effective date. "If it looks like it's going to be better news in March, we could change," Marshal said. But he advised, "we are sensitive about the management of this basin." That, he added, "is where the vast majority of sport fishing pressure occurs." It appears that Ohio anglers overfished the perch quota for the western basin in 2007 by about 20 percent, likely because of a long stretch of favorable fall weather allowed them to keep fishing. "It's very important that we comply [with quotas], because we have the same expectations of the other states and Ontario," Marshall stated. "Probably the silver lining to all this is the 2007 year-class [of yellow perch] looked pretty decent, so we are hoping that this should be short-term - a one-year deal." Roger Knight, Lake Erie program manager for the wildlife division, echoed the concerns. "The best science says that the stocks are declining, quotas will be lower, and we have to accommodate it." He said that the last of the data has not been compiled, but it is likely that the 2007 catch-quota for basin, 833,000 pounds, was exceeded by 20 percent, with the excess coming from the sport angling sector. "We're going to take one million pounds," Knight stated. Commercial trapnetters were "just under" their allotted share of 216,000 pounds and sport fishing alone took some 800,000 pounds of perch. "So the overage was the sport fishing. If we had not gone to 30 [creel limit] in '07, from 40, we would have been way over." Knight acknowledged that sport fishing pressure "is so weather-driven. The fishing took off in the fall and we were over." The perch fishery still is riding on the back of the massive 2003 year-class, with some help from the solid 2001 year-class and a few fish from other good years, 1999 and 1996. A minor contribution is coming now from a fair 2005 year-class, but a decent 2007 class will not be entering the sport fishery at a minimum until 2009 and generally not until 2010. Knight said that managers are unsure about the why of the perch declines. "We don't know." He said, however, that perch reproduction and survival tends to be better during periods of higher lake levels, in contrast to the current low-level regime. Invasive species also may have an impact, including forage competition principally from the invasive white bass. Walleye compete with perch to a lesser degree. Even pollutants and farm and urban runoff in the plume from the Maumee River may have an effect on reproduction. So may global climate change, which affects lake temperature and winter ice cover among other things, the biologist said. "Also, despite what we do as humans, it could be a random cycle." None of which may be much comfort to fishermen of all stripes. With more management maneuvering room afforded by Senate Bill 77, state fisheries administrators are trying to make some changes that may be unpalatable to netters - who state lawmakers in shaping the bill indicated - that they want to keep in business in any event. A buyout of netters, for example, was summarily nixed. "We're trying to move the [commercial] fishing to where the stocks [and quotas] are healthiest," Knight said of the plan to temporarily close the western basin to perch trapnets. That would divert pressure to the larger central basin, where the quota had some stock available in 2007. Lake Erie basically has four distinct yellow perch stocks - west, west-central, east-central, and east. The latter lies beyond Ohio's border, so is not at issue. The two central stocks split around Fairport Harbor, but only the west stock appears in direct jeopardy from fishing pressure. The wildlife division in the late 1980s established a policy granting priority to sport fishing over the remaining commercial fishery, which now includes only 18 trapnet licenses owned by 12 individuals, plus some seine licenses. Deadly gillnets were banned in the early 1980s, as was commercial taking of walleye in Ohio waters, unlike Ontario. But the policy was superseded in practice by a provision in a law that emerged from a 1974 fisheries task force that agreed to use a "rolling five-year-average" on allotting catches to commercial and sport interests. The quota system for allocating catch actually was not instituted until 1996. Until then, such rules as commercial size minimums on perch [now 8 1/2 inches] controlled the fisheries such that netters would not have been exceeding quotas. "When the yellow perch stocks bottomed out in the early 90s, there was a total 'buy-in' to strict adherence to quotas," Knight said. When the quotas initially were set up for 1996, 70 percent of the perch catch was allocated to sport anglers and 30 percent to netters, reflecting the two fisheries' performances in the prior five years. For the next 10 years, however, the commercial net-share grew to 40 percent and the sport share fell to 60 percent based on the legal requirement to use the rolling five-year average. Netters are not nearly as weather-dependent as sport anglers for their fishing, plus "they get paid for all the pounds they catch," Knight said. In short, the rolling five-year average created an incentive for netters to catch all of the quota every year "almost at all costs." Catching less than quota would mean a lower allotment in the next year as the rolling average catches up with a subquota year. Senate Bill 77, however, did away with the rolling five-year-average as the basis for commercial allocations so now, Knight said, "we have more flexibility to address the problem." Which in turn has enabled the proposed net-closure for the western basin. Some initial reactions to the division's proposals have been less than enthusiastic. "I don't believe it. Why would they do it?" asked Rick Ferguson, who runs Al Szuch Live Bait on Corduroy Road in Jerusalem Township. His shop and Butch and Denny's Bait down the road are two of the major perch-cleaning businesses in the area. "Thirty [perch a day] was a great idea," said Ferguson. "Our numbers now are no different fishwise," he added, referring to the state contention about over-quota perch catches by sport anglers in 2007. "The way fuel prices are going, who is going to go out for 25 fish?" Ferguson asked. As it is, he added, anglers are more careful about what they keep in regard to size because of the 30-limit, and often that has meant they do not even keep 30 as it is." Frank Reynolds, a veteran commercial fisherman from Oregon, was among netters who attended a state information session on the proposals on Friday. "Everybody is pretty well disgusted with the whole proposition," he said, accusing the state of "doing nothing to control the sport fishery." He complained that state law enforcement of sport angling limits and licensing is nothing today like it was 30 or 40 years ago, when he claims more on-lake enforcement and checks of sport boats occurred. Later he added, "we're not happy at all with them or their management philosophy or policy." He said that netters could help, for example, with cutting down on numbers of such competitive invaders as white perch, but the wildlife division will not cooperate by setting cooperative rules that netters can live with. Reynolds, who already is leading a federal lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 77, vowed that additional suits are in the works. He noted that Ontario commercial netters are equally upset with the GLFC's quotas on Lake Erie and are pursuing lawsuits on the Ontario side of the lake as well.

Angler Releases Probable World Record Catfish January 23, 2008 chattanoogan.com A TWRA Fisheries Biologist recently distributed this e-mail to his counterparts across the state. "Attached are a couple of photos of a monster blue catfish caught near Greenville, Mississippi by an elderly man who let the fish go after his wife took the pictures. The weight of the catfish is unknown, though some catfish anglers guessed it to be at least 150 pounds. It looks like 200 pounds to me. For sure it would have been a new world record."

Get ready for second annual ice fishing derby Al and Lesley Last Beacon Star Friday, January 25, 2008 Come join us in the McKellar Conservation Association’s (MCA) Second Annual Family Ice Fishing Derby being held on March 8. Last year’s derby had 72 anglers, both young and not-so-young, competing for prizes and enjoying the outdoors while fishing any inland lake in and around the McKellar area. Last year each junior angler walked away with at least one prize. This year’s derby will follow the same format as our first ice fishing derby. For adult anglers, prizes will be awarded to the three heaviest fish caught in each of the classes: pike, whitefish/cisco, and crappie. For junior anglers 14 years of age and younger, prizes will be awarded for the heaviest in each of the classes: pike, crappie and perch. There will be door prizes, including one aimed specifically for women. Weigh-ins will be held at the McKellar Community Centre between 6 and 7 p.m. followed by a meal. The registration cost includes the meal. Those wishing to participate by attending the meal only – as some had last year – and to share in the family fun with the anglers, can purchase the meal at the door, although we encourage you to purchase it earlier as seating is limited. Dinner starts at 7 p.m. and consists of freshly made coleslaw, dinner rolls with butter, oven roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, mixed variety vegetables, mashed potatoes, baked beans, dessert, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The prize ceremony will be hosted by MCA member Mike Corson and will begin immediately after the meal. To register, please send a cheque payable to MCA (McKellar Conservation Association) for $25 per adult, $10 dollars per child and $10 per person for the meal only. Here is the address: 5 Maplewood Dr., RR#1, C-12, Parry Sound, Ont. P2A 2W7. Should you choose to register in person, you may do so at Steve and Ann Bradley’s home at Manitouwabing Taxidermy, 6 Catherine St., McKellar

Snowmobiler falls through ice Jan 24, 2008 innisfiljournal.com South Simcoe Police are warning everyone to stay off Lake Simcoe ice after a snowmobiler sank in about 20 feet of frigid water about 100 metres from shore this afternoon (Thursday). South Simcoe Police were called to Big Bay Point in Innisfil at about 12:30 p.m. to help a man who broke through thin ice while operating his snowmobile. Fortunately, the 40-year-old Sharon man was able to swim to firmer ice and pull himself out of the water and roll to safety. He then walked to a nearby cottage for assistance. He was wet and cold when police arrived but did not require medical attention. Police are issuing a warning to all persons including ice fisherman, to stay off the ice on Lake Simcoe since it is still unsafe.

Chamber promotes Great Lakes petition Jan 23, 2008 meafordexpress.com Scott Woodhouse photo / In 1987, "The Sisters," a local landmark at Memorial Park, were barely out of the water. Now you can walk to them and not get your feet wet. Meaford Chamber of Commerce President Rod MacAlpine holds a petition from the Georgian Bay Association demanding the government act on low water levels in the Upper Great Lakes. It's time to fix the "hole in the bucket" before Lake Huron and Georgian Bay water levels become an environmental catastrophe beyond repair. The Meaford and District Chamber of Commerce is supporting and distributing a petition from the Georgian Bay Association (GBA) demanding the federal government take action on the "alarming downtrend in upper Great lakes water levels." "I'm concerned about the health of the Bay for the sake of the town, not just shoreline property owners," said Chamber of Commerce Ivan Franklin, who brought the petition to the chamber's executive. "I believe this is something we should be fighting for," he added. "We need to continue to put pressure on politicians at all levels." Franklin voiced frustration about promises of more studies from governments on both sides of the border. "They continue to try to find out why water levels are dropping - the answer is simple - there is too much water flowing out and not enough coming in," he said, in an interview this week. Franklin noted the Georgian Bay Association has done a lot of work in bringing the matter to the forefront and he agrees with their stand on the St. Clair River problem/solution. A study commissioned by the Georgian Bay Association stated that dredging of the river had caused increased erosion and increased outflow from Lake Huron as a result. "They believe that rather than spending $17 million on another study, the money would be better spent on mitigation measures that would control the outflow from Lake Huron. "In fact, there was an order 20 years ago to do just that but it was never acted on," he said. "Municipalities need to band together and force this issue because the costs to our communities will be enormous," he said, referring to a recent article in which the Mayor of the Town of the Blue Mountains said it would cost millions of dollars to extend their water intake pipes to deeper water if levels continue to drop. The GBA has been lobbying for action for the past few years over concerns that the Upper Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron, are experiencing an alarming downtrend in water level, which has continued unabated and has now reached a record low. The primary source of water flow into Lake Huron is from Lake Superior, which is also at an 80 year low, states the petition, and therefore it is unrealistic to expect substantially more water from lake Superior to remedy the low water problem in Lake Huron. According to the petition, water loss from Lake Huron through the St. Clair River has increased threefold to 2.5 billion gallons a day, the equivalent of 10 million tons of water or a block of water one square mile in area and 12 feet high. "Unless this hole in the bucket is fixed very soon, the problem will get worse and there will be no possible recovery," sates the petition, adding the non-renewable resource is being irreparably squandered. "The impact on millions of boaters, shippers, anglers, property owners, beach visitors and the businesses they patronize, will be devastating." The GBA petition calls on the Government of Canada to take action immediately by constructing proper mitigation structures in the St. Clair River as well as cover material to protect further erosion near the Bluewater Bridge. The petition is available for signing at the Chamber of Commerce office on Trowbridge St. For more information, visit the GBA website. Related Story

Love Canal settlement money benefits Salmon River hatchery and fishing along the river, among other Lake Ontario-related projects David Figura January 25, 2008 syracuse.com New York State will renovate boat launches and marinas, repair critical fish spawning habitat and renovate the Salmon River Hatchery in Almar as part of a $12 million restoration of Lake Ontario fisheries and its tributaries, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis announced Thursday. The revitalization plan is being funded with money from the 2006 settlement of the state's natural resources damages lawsuit against Occidental Chemical Corp. dealing with pollution that devastated sportfishing in Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers. DEC, as trustee of New York's natural resources, developed the restoration plan with public input. In all, the plan will fund 42 projects along Lake Ontario from Niagara to St. Lawrence counties that will enhance fish habitat and research, promote angler outreach and improve public fishing access. "These projects will reconnect New Yorkers to fishing spots - old and new - and boost their catch, while improving the health of the Lake Ontario fishery,'' said Grannis, who three decades ago came to Niagara Falls as a New York State assemblyman to help investigate the Love Canal toxic waste disaster. "It's good news for the fish. It's good news for anglers. And it's good news for the communities in the Lake Ontario region." The $12 million resolution is one of the largest in the nation for a natural resources damages claim based on recreational fishing losses. The settlement represents the final claim in a lawsuit the state filed against Occidental's predecessor, Hooker Chemical, in 1983. It addressed damages to the fishery caused by the discharge of dangerous chemicals from the company's main plant in Niagara Falls and from other sites and facilities either owned or operated by Occidental. DEC began soliciting ideas for the spending plan in early 2007, holding a series of public meetings across the Lake Ontario region. Approximately 150 proposals were considered and 77 were advanced to a panel that scored the ideas. Of those, 42 were selected: 25 to improve access, 14 to enhance habitat and resources and three to promote fishing in the region. Local highlights: The restoration plan includes funding for other notable system-wide projects designed to improve research and boost the fishery. -- Stream bank improvements to an 18-mile stretch of the Salmon River (Oswego County), one of the most extensively fished waterways in the state. Over time, there has been a general build up material in certain channels, creating pools and eroding banks. The grant aims to alleviate problems and take angler traffic away from the more susceptible points. ($500,000) -- Upgrades to the renowned state-run Salmon River Fish Hatchery in Oswego County. A comprehensive study will evaluate water supply and hatchery practices and develop a plan to improve trout and salmon production at the facility. ($2.2 million) -- A new automated fish marking trailer that will be used to mark Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, Lake Trout, and possibly other species. The technology, widely used in the Pacific Northwest, will allow DEC to mark and track upwards of 2.5 million fish annually - significantly improving DEC's ability to monitor and study species in Lake Ontario and its tributaries. ($1.5 million) -- Sea Lamprey control barriers. This grant will be matched by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to construct "low-head barriers" that block Sea Lamprey migration and spawning in Lake Ontario tributaries. Sea lamreys, a parasite that attach to a host fish, have contributed to the decline of sportfish, especially lake trout. ($60,000) -- Walleye spawning habitat fund. DEC staff will use this grant to assess tributaries (including the Oswego River, Little Sandy Creek, Black River and Oswegatchie River) to determine the presence of Walleye and spawning habitat to help improve fish production. ($200,000) In Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, hatchery and habitat improvements will help rebuild walleye, northern pike and muskellunge populations and boost the area as a prime fishing destination. Because access to waterways is key to attracting anglers, the upgrades will enhance fishing for years to come. The improvements will help the local economy, especially the motels, restaurants, tackle shops and guide services that rely on a vibrant fishery. Highlights: -- Hatchery improvements at the Cape Vincent Fisheries Station (Jefferson County) to help launch stocking programs for walleye, northern pike and muskellunge. In recent years, the village of Cape Vincent and the Lake Ontario Fisheries Coalition have begun repairs at the former federal fish hatchery. DEC, which now owns the facility, anticipates that these stocking programs could provide measurable improvements to Lake Ontario sportfisheries. ($1.4 million) A separate project will create interpretive displays of the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence fishery for the aquarium/visitors center at the hatchery. ($40,000) -- Renovations and a modern boat launch for Golden's Marina (Lyme, Jefferson County). A boat launch will be constructed on the isthmus to Point Peninsula in the town of Lyme. The marina has been dredged, but a property survey and construction design are needed. ($300,000) - Northern pike spawning marsh rehabilitation. Historic pike spawning grounds have been wrecked by the proliferation of Typha (cattails), especially over the last 15 years. DEC surveys have documented a decline in northern pike over that period. Part of the project involves using a special excavator to cut channels in Typha mats and outlet ditches in the Eastern Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River area. ($200,000) A separate project will repair a water control structure at Cranberry Creek (near Alexandria Bay, Jefferson County), also to improve northern pike spawning grounds ($50,000). Another will fund a research experiment to transplant and grow vegetation and construct breakwaters in shallow marsh habitats ($45,000). -- Lindsey and Stoney creeks (Jefferson County) angler parking areas. Two five-car parking areas will be built (exact spots to be determined) with footpaths to these Lake Ontario tributaries ($20,000). -- Fish Island access site (Dexter, Jefferson County). This project will provide floating docks, as well as lighting and boat-ramp improvements. ($45,000) -- Mud Bay boat launch (Lyme, Jefferson County). This project will include a launch site for small boats only and parking for 10 cars and trailers. ($100,000) -- Ogdensburg Hatchery upgrades (Lisbon, St. Lawrence County). This project calls for the construction and lining of two additional one-acre ponds to increase walleye production. ($100,000). -- Morristown boat launch improvements (St. Lawrence County). During fall or low-water conditions, the village boat launch is too short to launch boats safely. This project will lengthen the launch and improve docking. ($50,000) -- Chaumont Bay launch sites and ice-fishing access. Exact sites to be determined. ($500,000) (Note: several selected projects hinge on factors such as land acquisition. If a project proves unworkable, it might be replaced with the next highest-scoring proposal that did not make the initial cut.) -- Fisheries Promotion Assistance. This grant will be used to develop a new "I Love NY Great Lakes Fishing" brochure to be distributed at sportfishing tournaments, fairs and other public events. While some counties typically promote local fishing sites, currently there is no promotion for the Great Lakes Region as a whole. Approximately 40 percent of the anglers who fish Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers are from out of state. ($100,000)

BY MIKE HOLTZCLAW January 24, 2008 dailypress.com (photos available) VIRGINIA BEACH - A Chesapeake fisherman hauled in a 73-pound striped bass on Wednesday, easily the biggest ever caught in Virginia and one of the biggest ever registered in the United States. Fred Barnes, 63, caught the bass while fishing off a boat from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center. He was near the 4A buoy around Cape Henry when he reeled it in. The previous state record was 68 pounds, 1 ounce. John Crowling, general manager of the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, registered the fish at 73 pounds, 52 inches in length and 31½ inches in girth. When Crowling attempted to research national records, he found only larger striped bass ever registered in the U.S. – a 78-pounder caught in New Jersey and a 76-pounder caught in New York. "This one might be the third-biggest ever registered in the U.S., and after this one, the weights drop way off into the high 60s," he said. "You could tell when you first saw the fish that it was just about perfect. It's a very long fish, and it's girth is very big. The food supply out here off Rudee Inlet is so good that the fish are just staying here." Crowling said Barnes does not plan to mount the fish. Instead, he said Barnes had agreed to keep the fish on ice for a few days so that it can be studied by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Then he plans to fillet it.

....Good job Pete. I'm heading into day five myself with no "puffs", cold turkey thus far. No problemo!

Wildlife federation head charged with overfishing Wednesday, January 23 2008 thecanadianpress.com MONTREAL–The president of Quebec's wildlife federation, who vowed to make fishermen more responsible, has quit before his arraignment on charges he allegedly exceeded the catch limit when reeling in speckled trout. Alain Gagnon is also charged with obstructing a provincial wildlife officer in the performance of his duties in the July 2007 incident. Gagnon allegedly tossed the fish back into the water when confronted by wildlife officials. There is a 20-fish limit when catching speckled trout. "After 20 years of involvement at the heart of the federation, Mr. Gagnon has quit his post, saying he is doing it in the best interests of the organization he has led as a volunteer for three years," federation spokeswoman Genevieve Clavet said in a statement today. There is no mention of Gagnon's charges in the statement and Clavet said there would be no further comment. The Federation quebecoise de la faune said it would elect a new president when it meets in April. Gagnon, 53, was re-elected president in April 2007 and said one of his priorities was to encourage fishermen to be responsible. Documents filed at the provincial courthouse in Roberval, where Gagnon is to be arraigned tomorrow, say he was sport fishing on Lac Pimitshikamau, which is part of the Rat River, when he was allegedly found in possession of the quantity of fish. Both charges against Gagnon carry a maximum fine of $100,000, the documents say. Chantal Drapeau, a spokeswoman for the provincial Natural Resources and Wildlife Department, confirmed Gagnon had been given a summons to appear in court on the charges but was reluctant to comment further because the matter is before the courts. "You'll understand that Mr. Gagnon has not yet been arraigned at the courthouse so we won't be giving any more information in this case," she said. "We will be following the administrative inquiry." If Gagnon is found guilty, Drapeau said the fine could vary depending on how many extra fish were caught. Pierre Barnoti, executive director of the Montreal branch of the SPCA, said he was surprised by the news about Gagnon. "Mr. Gagnon, being in the position that he's in, is called to respect an even higher standard than the common person because of what he represents," Barnoti said before the resignation was announced. "I don't want to pronounce myself because he hasn't been found guilty but if he is found guilty it would be a terrible thing for a person of such responsibility to be so irresponsible."

....Clamato and beer. All the goodness I need, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Local students helping boost Atlantic salmon stocks By Caitlin den Boer January 22, 2008 The Trentonian Quinte area students will be giving Mother Nature a helping hand this year as they boost Ontario’s Atlantic salmon population. On Friday, 100 Atlantic salmon eggs were dropped off at Prince Charles public school in Quinte West and V.P. Carswell elementary. C.M.L. Snider school in Wellington and Massassaga-Rednersville public school are also part of the salmon restoration program, which was launched in 2006. The program, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, works with Gr. 4 and 6 students in the greater Toronto area and now as far east as Trenton. “In our first year we had 24 schools in Ontario involved, this year we have 47,” said Earl Martin, who will oversee the program at Prince Charles. The salmon eggs, which are farmed at Harwood Hatchery, will spend the remaining winter months in the classrooms of the involved schools before being released into the Cobourg Brook in Ganaraska in May. “Survival rates will vary,” said Chris Robinson, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters biologist and Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program Coordinator. “We’ve had anywhere from one to 80 or 90 left over. The biggest problem is merely overfeeding them (salmon).” Since April 2006, the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program has stocked almost 700,000 Atlantic salmon into the Credit River, Duffins Creek, and Cobourg Brook. For more information on the restoration program please visit, www.bringbackthesalmon

Anglers found safe on Beebe Lake January 22 2008 thesudburystar.com Two Greater Sudbury men out ice fishing on a remote lake north of Webbwood on the weekend were located safe and sound Sunday morning after activating their emergency locator transmitter. The two men, who flew to Beebe Lake on Saturday, were unable to take off from the lake after the plane's skis becoming frozen in the ice. They were located by a Royal Command Centre Trenton search and rescue helicopter and given assistance to free the plane.

'Spring melt in January'; Record January thaw prompts response to rising lake levels

'Spring melt in January'; Record January thaw prompts response to rising lake levels By Colin McKim Wednesday January 23 2008 orilliapacket.com With Lake Simcoe close to brimming over because of a record January thaw, Parks Canada has had to open sluice gates downstream to draw the big lake back down to normal winter levels. This emergency outflow has created strong currents in the canal between Lake Couchiching and Lock 42 that have swept away the ice and will make the three-kilometre stretch unsafe for snowmobiling the rest of the winter, even if it does freeze over again. "I'm not sure we've ever experienced the lake so high this time of year," said Dave Ness, water control engineer with the Trent-Severn Waterway. "It's basically a spring melt in January." Every fall, the TSW opens sluice gates at locks along the Severn River to draw the water in lakes Simcoe and Couchiching down 20 centimetres to create capacity for the spring runoff. But so much water flooded into the basin in January that Lake Simcoe is only two centimetres from the maximum. If this excess water was not drained away between now and the spring thaw, Lake Simcoe could overflow dikes and spill into parts of the Holland Marsh that are below lake level, said Ness. Flooding in the Black River water- shed north and east of Lake Couchi- ching would also be severe if the two lakes were not drawn down again, he pointed out. The three-kilometre canal between Lake Couchiching and Lock 42 is typ- ically iced over in January, Ness said, and it is fairly safe for snowmobiling most winters. But the current caused in the canal by opening the discharge valves at Lock 42 eats away at the underside of the ice and makes it unsafe. The TSW sent out an information bulletin Monday advising people to stay well clear of the channel above and below the lock. Ness said the water will be running through the canal to Lock 42 for the balance of the winter, so if ice reappears it will not be safe for walking or snowmobiling. The unexpected flow through the canal has already washed away several docks and a canoe, said one area resident. Jim Partridge, president of the Orillia and District Snowmobile Club, said there are no designated trails that cross the canal between Washago and Lock 42. "Our major trail to the north is on the east side of Lake Couchiching," said Partridge. "It doesn't affect us."

ENVIRONMENT / Clock is ticking for conservation dream Development, funding threaten 50-year plan to fill in `missing links' along our waterways Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Phinjo Gombu / Staff Reporter TheStar.com Brian Denney likes to think his job is about building infrastructure, only it's the green kind. He's in charge of protecting and nurturing one of the GTA's largest tracts of publicly owned river valleys and conservation areas. Denney compares the network of waterways that stretch from Lake Ontario to the Oak Ridges Moraine to the roads, pipes and power lines found in the urban environment. In their own way, both create the foundations for a great city. And it's vital not to forget that. "We want this city to become more dense," says Denney, CAO of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, best known for managing publicly accessible conservation areas and trails. "But it's really important that, as part of the city-building process, we have a green infrastructure layer that we are working to achieve, along with other aspects of urban infrastructure." But it's not easy, and time is running out. The authority first drew up a wish list of lands it would like to acquire back in the 1960s – all part of a vision to knit together continuous ribbons of green, flowing from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario, that would preserve waterways, provide conduits for wildlife and allow amenities such as a continuous trail system. The plan has been updated regularly, but the dream is only half complete. Acquiring the missing links – some 16,000 hectares – along water systems such as the Humber River, Highland Creek, Rouge River and Duffins Creek is going to be a long slog. That's because the authority has no money of its own to buy private land, such as the parcels it covets along the Humber near Highway 401. In recent years, it has received modest but encouraging support from an unlikely source – cash-strapped municipalities (Toronto, York, Durham and Peel regions) that came forward with funds to buy small but significant parcels. In Toronto's case, the money has come from something called the Source Water Protection Acquisition Program. Other regions simply have dug into reserve funds. One parcel was the two-hectare Boyer property, which the authority acquired last month for about $285,000 provided by Peel and Toronto. It's situated at the headwaters of the Humber near Glen Haffy. But the authority's larger dream will remain unfulfilled unless senior governments step in to make it happen. Municipalities have contributed up to $3 million a year – just not good enough to fulfil a long-term vision. "If we had $20 million a year for land acquisition over the space of the next two decades, most of this stuff is doable," says Denney wistfully. "This is not a billion-dollar problem." The immense area he's referring to covers nine watersheds, stretching from Etobicoke Creek in the west to Duffins Creek in the east, and encompasses municipalities that are home to more than 3 million people – one-fourth of Ontario's population and Canada's most densely populated region. Councillor Glen De Baeremaeker, an environmental activist who champions a stable fund for the TRCA, says it's a race against time – especially because the agency is often competing for the land with developers. This is especially true in the northern headwaters, where developers and other private interests are staking claims, although strategic purchases are also needed in more heavily urbanized areas to the south. What's desperately needed is a stable pot of money. That kind of funding would allow the body to move quickly and even approach private property owners to negotiate pre-emptive sales. As it is, opportunities can be lost by the time funding is put together. Even sellers who would prefer to see land preserved don't want to wait a year or more as the authority scrambles to find the money. "The government had zero muscle before, and now we have a teeny-weeny muscle," says Baeremaeker, in reference to budding municipal funding. "Land acquisition for green space is no different from any other public policy issue," says a philosophical Denney. "You make the most progress when the federal government, the provincial government and the municipal government are all aligned toward the same goal." Denney says the conservation authority's most significant growth took place in the years immediately after Hurricane Hazel, the 1954 storm that killed 81 people in Ontario and left thousands homeless. Much of the land the body owns today was bought or expropriated in an effort to keep development out of areas vulnerable to flooding. The province did give the authority a one-time grant of about 1,335 hectares in the Rouge River Valley, near the Toronto Zoo, in 2004. But in general there's been "less alignment" with the conservation authority's goals since the post-hurricane era, says Denney. He praises the province for stepping in to protect the Oak Ridges Moraine and the new Greenbelt by freezing development. But much of the protected land still remains privately owned, and unless the authority or some other preservation-minded body acquires it, a change of government could mean it could get built upon one day. In recent years, as concerns about flooding receded, the authority also has seen its primary focus of flood control and dam-building evolve to address broader environmental concerns. Denney says environmentally conscious municipal politicians have begun to walk the walk with their budgets, and that gives him hope other levels of government will step up. "It's about air quality, aesthetics, wildlife in the city. It's about nice places to walk, all coming together in a green space system," says Denney. "It's about maintaining some aspects of the natural system that are unique to this part of the world ... at the same time that we are building a big city."

Botulism takes fatal toll on thousands of Great Lakes birds Botulism and the infamous zebra mussel are blamed for killing birds - from gulls to loons - by the thousands By James Janega | Tribune reporter January 16, 2008 Rentrop counted 80 carcasses on a remote mile of beach near Cross Village, just a fraction of the estimated thousands of dead mergansers, gulls, loons and other birds whose migration last autumn ended in deadly poisoning from Type E botulism on Lake Michigan. The mounting toll on migrating birds has stoked fears among researchers and ecologists that blame for the deaths lies with invasive populations of zebra mussels and round gobies -- which arrived in ballast tanks in the 1980s and 1990s -- spreading over the Great Lakes and effectively creating a new food chain. Zebra mussels and their deep-water kin, quagga mussels, filter naturally occurring botulism and other toxins from the water. Gobies eat the mussels, and birds, in turn, eat the gobies. Scientists theorize this new food chain is concentrating botulism and other toxins and passing them up to predators. The theory is the subject of a handful of scientific papers and upcoming research proposals. Whatever the mechanism of transmitting the botulism, scientists in 1999 counted 311 birds in Lake Erie that appeared to die of it. The next year they counted 8,000, and the toll has remained in the thousands in the Great Lakes every year since. And instead of fading quickly as outbreaks did in decades past, the toxin has spread -- first through Lakes Erie and Ontario, then Huron. In 2006, Lake Michigan was the most recent lake to be affected and by last autumn was one of the hardest hit. In spreadsheets, scientists have noted the fatal effects of the annual outbreaks on more than 50 species of birds throughout the Great Lakes, from bald eagles to lowly pigeons. The list names 16 species of ducks, four types of grebes and six types of gulls. It includes double-crested cormorant and four of Lake Michigan's tiny piping plovers, a bird so threatened its nests get protection from police tape and fences at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). The deaths of many hundreds of loons have focused new urgency on the now-annual die-offs that occur from summer to fall. Loons live in small numbers, are slow to reproduce and are a symbol of northern wilderness. The die-off that ended in November claimed an estimated 3,500 to 8,500 birds -- including the loons and plovers -- over hundreds of miles of beach in seven northern Michigan counties. It spread from an estimated 2,900 birds in 2006 along just 14 miles of shoreline at Sleeping Bear Dunes, said dunes biologist Ken Hyde. The die-off also sparked preparations for a sprawling and macabre bird count in 2008 that will involve scores of volunteers combing hundreds of miles of Lake Michigan beaches over the summer and fall -- to add up, bury and haul off what are expected to be thousands more poisoned birds and fish. "We wish we weren't dealing with this," said Mark Breederland, who as extension educator for the Michigan Sea Grant research program is organizing the upcoming response. "We've got enough challenges on Lake Michigan, but it's here. It's upon us." The heightened threat to Lake Michigan became clear over the summer, when shore birds began dying, possibly of picking maggots off infected fish carcasses that washed ashore. Then came autumn. "We were getting so many loons," said Thomas Cooley, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist who performed necropsies on the birds. It takes 10 or 12 of the big birds to cover a laboratory table, he explained. "When you have two or three tables covered with those, it's pretty sobering to look at that." Among the birds found dead was one of the most-studied loons in Michigan, a venerable male with four boldly colored tags on his legs and a name: C-3. Each year since 1993, he had been observed at an Upper Peninsula pond in the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, said Damon McCormick, a biologist at Common Coast Research and Conservation who studied the bird. Researchers knew C-3 had spent much of his life with the same female loon on a secluded pond in a corner of the refuge and that for unexplained reasons, he had recently left her for another loon on a neighboring pond in the refuge. They knew that he stayed behind at the new pond a few weeks this year to supervise one late blooming chick as other loons began their fall migration, which may have timed his migration perfectly to a botulism plume and indirectly spelled his doom. To their knowledge, C-3 had raised more than 15 chicks over the years, and only once let a chick drown -- when its leg got caught on a submerged log. For a loon, made him a good father, researchers said. The loon's body was found Nov. 1 by an old friend, of sorts, on a deserted, sandy crescent of Lake Michigan's north shore. Biologist and Common Coast co-director Joe Kaplan had handled C-3 "four or five" times in 14 years, most recently in 2006. Kaplan was on his last day of surveying bird carnage along the shore when he discovered the body. "I remember specifically walking up to this bird," Kaplan said. "There are thousands of thousands of birds that died on that lake, and here's a bird that had a known history. I had a relationship with this bird. It's an element of familiarity that you didn't want to find." Adult loons return to their northern nesting grounds by early spring about 93 percent of the time, McCormick said. This year, researchers will be watching for them anxiously. A decline in adult population would almost certainly spell a decline among loons. "We expect to see all our birds," McCormick said. "But based on finding the C-3 male, there's a lot more trepidation of what we'll find this spring."