Help the Troubled Credit River

[John Bacon]

I didnt realize that the MNR doesnt have their own funding for restocking.

 

Isnt that silly?

 

They do, but the Atlantic restoration program is also supported by corporate donations. It is unlikely that those funds would be available to promote non-native species if the MNR were to give up on Atlantics.

 

There is also no guarantee that the MNR would re-allocate their own funding and efforts to bows and browns if and when the Atlantic program is halted.

 

I am not convinced that ending the Atlantic program will benefit other species.

Edited September 30, 2015 by JohnBacon

[manitoubass2]

 

They do, but the Atlantic restoration program is also supported by corporate donations. It is unlikely that those funds would be available to promote non-native species if the MNR were to give up on Atlantics.

 

There is also no guarantee that the MNR would re-allocate their own funding and efforts to bows and browns if and when the Atlantic program is halted.

 

I am not convinced that ending the Atlantic program will benefit other species.

Well then, we should all call to end the restocking program of atlantics and allo ate funds to something useful

[John Bacon]

Well then, we should all call to end the restocking program of atlantics and allo ate funds to something useful

.

I wouldn't recommend holding yor breath while you wait for an increase in stocking other species should the Atlantic program ever cancelled.

[manitoubass2]

.

I wouldn't recommend holding yor breath while you wait for an increase in stocking other species should the Atlantic program ever cancelled.

Well to be honest it doesnt effect me. Im nowhere near lake O or tribs that have trout/salmon.

 

I live in NW ontario

 

But its still pisses me off that the money is essentially being wasted

[solopaddler]

An interesting and well thought out response from Darryl Choronzey on the topic. What I took away from it was stream temps are too high when the salmon return and perhaps just as importantly they are not imprinting because of where they are stocked and the strains of fish being dumped in:

 

 

The Ontario Atlantic Salmon Program Ignorance or Stupidity

The Province of Ontario has been stocking Atlantic Salmon in an attempt to achieve self-sustaining reproduction not just since the spring of 1986, but as early as the late 1800’s. Tens of millions of Atlantic salmon have been stocked in their various life stages from eyed eggs, fry, fingerling, yearling, advanced yearlings and even full aged adults. The results can best be described with words such as disappointing, dismal and even disastrous. Year after year after year taxpayer dollars have funded an experiment that has shown no evidence of even minimal success. That is unless you perceive less than two dozen fish returning to a major waterway such as the Credit River west of Toronto, where millions of Atlantics have been stocked as a success.

Atlantic salmon disappeared from the Lake Ontario tributaries in the late 1880’s due to river degradation in the form of dams, pollution, clearing of surrounding forests and to some extent over-harvesting. Those rivers that could not support Atlantics in the 1880’s are in worse shape today than they when those last Atlantics disappeared before the turn of the century. It’s called population sprawl and urbanization expansion and those big Lake Ontario tributaries especially west of Toronto will never support Atlantic salmon restoration. Not now and not in the future. The Atlantic salmon is not a rainbow trout, Chinook salmon or brown trout. It returns to its natal stream at a different time and demands the best water conditions that the main rivers in this experiment can never provide.


Roger Greil the smartest and the best and they never called him???





Roger Greil the aquatic manager at Lake Superior State University is the only fish culturist to achieve any real form of success breeding Atlantic salmon in the Great Lakes and creating a sport fishery. Greil bases his success on three distinct reasons.



-imprinting His eggs are fertilized, hatched and all fish raised and released at one site on the St. Mary’s River for maximum imprinting.

- stocking size All Atlantics released at the university’s lab are held from 18-20 months again not only for maximum size and maximum survival, but maximum imprinting.

-location (temperature) The waters flowing down the St Mary’s River are perfect for this type of experiment. Always cold, always clean, always moving.

Roger knows more about the needs, methods and problems faced with raising Atlantics in the Great Lakes than anyone. He also readily admits that he has achieved some degree of success, but he has special circumstances present at his site not found anywhere else on the Great Lakes. He also notes that he is not utilizing Atlantic salmon to create a sport fishery first, but as a study animal in his classroom. Atlantics are difficult to rear and are not a creature to expect optimum survival either in the hatchery or once released in the wild.

Roger also mentioned time and time again the fact that Atlantic salmon were adversely affected by a diet of alewife when feeding in the Great Lakes. Like most salmonids, but particularly true with Atlantics eating alewife led to thyamine deficiency, which in turn related in very poor survival from egg to fry when the fish were hatching. In fact, when alewife were the main source of food for Atlantics in Lake Huron he suffered losses from 80 to almost 100 percent. In the wild this related to almost no chance of spawning success.


The Early Years-

Atlantic salmon restoration has been attempted since the very first signs of their possible extinction in Lake Ontario back in the 1880’s. Samuel Wilmot first began stocking Atlantic salmon back in 1865. Since then millions upon millions of Atlantics have been stocked in rivers such as Bronte, the Credit, Duffins Creek, Bowmanville, the Humber, Moira, Lynne Creek, Salmon, the Wilmot …just about every tributary on Ontario’s north shore. Has natural reproducing self-sustaining population ever been established after more than 125 years of effort?


1987 - 2004

From 1987 to 2004 the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources embarked on a major program to once again attempt to develop a natural reproducing self-sustaining Atlantic salmon population. It proved to be another failure.

Often the OMNR will attempt to explain the reason for the failure noting that adequate numbers of Atlantics were not utilized. At times they note that stocked fish were possibly too small when stocked to meet their target. The answer is simply no. Over almost a 20-year period more than 2,463,000 Atlantics were stocked. Yes, 124,920 were eyed eggs, but more than 2,200,000 were live fish ranging from fry, through to yearlings, right through to adult age classes. The fish just didn’t survive in any real numbers. In an attempt to identify any type of survival the Ministry of Natural Resources even carried out a special ‘fishing survey program’ whereby certain anglers were allowed to carry special permits to fish closed waters in an attempt to locate any surviving adults.

The Atlantic catch results as expected proved to be dismal, but it certainly provided some great angling opportunities for those special fishermen allowed to angle in waters closed to everyone else in the province when it came to rainbow and brown trout, but few if any Atlantics were caught.

Lake Ontario Salmon Stocking 1987 / 2004


Year Fry Fingerlings Sub Yearlings Yearlings* Adults Eggs

1987 1,009
1988 21,850 27,145
1989 51,379 24,403
1990 1,600 36,291 21,760
1991 55,195
1992 59,685
1993 15,000 39,166 19,520
1994 17,310 49,502
1995 90,286 44,744
1996 116,194 4,394
1997 138,565 504
1998 21,423 129,427 500 157 16,287
1999 13,000 164,414 274 12,036
2000 140,313 116,768 140
2001 9,131 195,437 175
2002 5,511 242,239 1,299 576 44,000
2003 5,500 123,620 84,128 338
2004 25,300 217,804 5,000 460

Totals 252,488 1,536,354 454,142 92,828 2,624 124,920


Grand Total- 2,463,356



It should have been obvious to anyone working on the program at that time that the Atlantic was proving to be one big dud. Sure there were a lot of fry and fingerlings being stocked yearling and advanced yearlings being stocked as well. Millions of fish being raised and stocked and nothing coming back.

Now go back again and look at why Griel was getting results. Imprinting , stocking size, location/temperature. This just wasn’t happening in Ontario and it still isn’t. Greil’s fish again are hatched, raised and released at the same location for perfect imprinting. Greil carried all his fish over to advanced yearlings 18-20 months of age. His location on the St. Mary’s is cold and comfortable year round.

At the time of this experiment, I was raising rainbow and Chinook in Owen Sound and visiting Burlington a lot. I also happened to have a high/low thermometer with me in the truck for numerous years. Many times I stopped to take water temperature upstream of the Queen Elizabeth at both Bronte Creek and the Credit. During July and August temperatures were more often than not in the low to mid 80’s. Not only lethal but chowder cooking time for any Atlantics that ever did survive and decide to try and enter the rivers. Rivers west of Toronto just don’t cut it and that was being proven. I also got similar high temperatures at Duffins and even Bowmanville during the summer months.

Again, as far as I’m concerned these rivers for the most part are great rainbow rivers, but rainbow for the most part enter the tribs from late September around til late April. Atlantics are a different critter with a different date book. Summer temperatures are lethal on these fish. These rivers are not what they used to be and never will be.

Not once in those 8 years did the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources attempt to contact Roger Greil to discover why he was succeeding and they were failing.


MNR/OFAH Buddy Up

In late 2005 or early 2006 I received a phone call from a good friend of mine ‘at the time’ named Jerry Smitka. Smitka was a retiring Ministry of Natural Resources biologist and along with Jack Imhoff another biologist was promoting a new venture being conjured up between the Ministry of Natural Resouces and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters concerning the Atlantic salmon. Jerry asked if I would support it. There was talk of old mounts on the poolroom wall. DNA samples from long extinct Lake Ontario Atlantics and even possible excursions to South America planned to possibly bring back some original genetic stock. He also asked if I would support the program?

My reply was simple. No thanks. Still it was the same critter, possibly with a few genetic changes, faced with the same problems. Same old stocking practices and in my opinion the same old results would be achieved. It was and still is my opinion that the rivers and Lake Ontario would not support a viable Atlantic salmon sport fishery and would not support natural self-sustaining reproduction.

Over the years there would be plenty of hype by both parties. Plenty of photo shoots with politicians that knew very little about the fish that they were carrying down to the river for the cameras. There also was plenty of talk of planting trees, turning stones in rivers and getting kids involved. There were even press releases in the early days of the program from the parties involved about the number of fish that had been stocked by the partnership.

I’ve yet to see a press release on the number of Atlantics that returned to the river. The surviving fish just never materialized in any numbers to the river or to the fishermen, in the lake or the river.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and their associate experimenters also at times again passed out the permits to ‘distinct’ angling individuals to fish during the closed seasons and in sanctuaries in an attempt to find these Atlantics. These seek and search privileged angling trips were suspended under the protests of the public.

Back about three years ago, I was exchanging Christmas greetings with a friend of mine, Chris Goddard the Executive Secretary of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. As usual, the subject got around to Atlantics. Only this time Chris suggested I sit down with Mike Morencie Ontario’s new Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife supervisor.

The first of a number of meetings was arranged and I flew up from Florida to meet the new head of fish and wildlife. He knew in advance that I was concerned and had been adamantly against the Atlantic program from the start.

At the first meeting, I suggested that at least half the scientists involved and responsible for the program should be fired or shipped out. I also noted that the smart move would be to immediately flush every Atlantic salmon being held in ministry hatcheries at the time down the toilet, explaining that he would achieve the same results….almost zero, but save the cost of rearing, babysitting and feeding the beast.

I noted that only Greil at the Soo had achieved any real success due to the all important factors of genetics, proper size at release, proper stocking, proper imprinting and the fact that the Sault Rapids have that all important ‘cold’ water factor come home in June/July and August the time when Atlantics first return to his hatchery and their release site. He also listened to my concerns on thyamine deficiency due to a diet of alwife in Lake Ontario. I strongly suggested that his staff contact the one person that knew more about Atlantic salmon than anyone in the Great Lakes…Roger Greil. Surprisingly, up until this time that I write this report, no one in the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has ever made contact with Greil.

In a follow-up phone conversation I asked for the latest Atlantic return figures for the Credit River. I was given a new contact name to receive the numbers. Low and behold when I made the call I was informed I would have to wait the like rest of the press and would get the numbers in March when the release was made public. Was this Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources co-operation at it’s finest???

I immediately hung up the phone and called Mike Morencie who promised the results in a day or two. I honestly expected low return numbers of a hundred or more. To say I was shocked at what really returned to the Streetsville dam is putting it mildly. A grand total of 33 Atlantics had been captured in 2011 at the Streetsville dam. Millions of fish stocked in more than 25 years and 33 Atlantics were all that could come back to their major stocking river.
But the story only gets worse.

More one on one meetings were held with Mike. At times, even Doctor Chris Goddard sat in. Mike was more than co-operative. We discussed a lot of issues relating to the Atlantic program. At one sit down, the thyamine subject was brought up. Mike mentioned tests had been done and Chris immediately noted that test that had been carried out were in fact not effective for testing for the problem??? Again, I noted that no one up until this particular meeting and even today had bothered to contact Roger Greil on the problems and cures related to raising Atlantic salmon in the Great Lakes.

Normandale

These days, most of the public believes that Normandale Hatchery is ‘the’ home of the Ontario Atlantic salmon program. That belief is wrong. It’s just one of the homes. The problem is Normadale has been renovated mostly for Atlantic salmon, with a smaller portion allotted to raising rainbow trout and chinook salmon.

Annually production of Normandale Atlantic Salmon-
400,000 4-5 inch fry
150,000 10-11 month yearlings
75,000 advanced yearlings

Total Atlantics 650,000

Again, I requested and received the annual costs to operate Normandale. The reply from the Ministry was prompt and not surprising. Normandale’s annual operating cost has been established at $386,500. I’ve been raising trout and salmon for more than twenty years. With the various species, sizes, numbers and hatchery space allotment I estimate the cost of raising the Normandale Atlantics at a minimum of $300,000 of the total operating costs of the Normandale facility.

The Normandale fish are all destined directly for Lake Ontario tributary stocking by the Ontario government. This being established, I asked the numbers and costs of Atlantics being raised for the so-called other groups such as the OFAH, Sir Sanford Fleming, Metro East Angler’s Ringwood Hatchery, etc?

Wow! Did I get a surprise?


Harwood Fish Hatchery

Harwood is one of, if not the largest of Ontario’s brood stock factories. Unlike our American neighbours around the Great Lakes who utilize wild fish stocks when collecting eggs for their fisheries programs, Ontario for the most part depends on large numbers of adult brood stock for the hatchery egg needs. It’s also Harwood that is the major Atlantic salmon source of eggs, fry and fingerlings for most of their experimental Atlantic salmon needs.

Again, I requested from the MNR the number of fish produced, number of brood retained and the annual cost of the Harwood hatchery. Again, Mike Morencie and Kevin Loftus the Manager of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Fish Culture produced the requested records.

The first report I received was frightening. Here’s a chart from the Harwood facility that has absolutely nothing to do with Ringwood for the fiscal year 12/13. It’s just one year mind you, but Harwood has been the eggs source for the Atlantic program almost from its inception.


Harwood egg/fry/fingerling/yearling output… from fall 2012 spawn


Belfountain 27,562 fry/fingerlings

Belfountain 31,176 eyed eggs

Credit River 63,162 eyed eggs Credit River

Sir Sanford Fleming 59,395 fry/fingerlings

Ontario Streams 10,838 eyed eggs

Ontario Streams 14,269 eyed eggs

Sir Sanford Fleming 74,000 fry

Sir Sanford Fleming 27,960 spring yearlings

Sir Sanford Fleming 43,607 fry

Ringwood 25,291 fry/fingerling

Islington 46,734 fry

Humber 57,881 eyed eggs

Bronte 37,117 eyed eggs

Cobourg Creek 38,476 eyed eggs

OFAH classroom 9,950 fry

Coderington Research 35,345 green eggs


Total…. 602,759

You have to remember that a number of these destinations, besides Ringwood, Sir Sanford Fleming and the CRAA are also utilizing the actual fish and even eggs to raise Atlantics. These volunteer clubs end up picking up most of the funding to carry the fish over to fall fingerlings. One also has to realize again, that all Atlantic eggs and fish produced at both facilities require brood stock. Atlantic salmon have always proven to be a tough fish to raise in the hatchery, starting with the fertilization of the egg. That was the reason for my request for the number of Atlantic brood stock being kept at Harwood.

When the answer came, I was again more than surprised. The number of Atlantic brood stock in Harwood consists of 3 strains, 14- year classes, which totals out at 4,544 brood stock. The ministry also noted at the same time that over at Normandale an additional 2 strains, 7 year classes which totaled at another 3,355 Atlantic brood stock. I would say 7,899 Atlantic broodstock are a lot of hungry mouths to feed for 365 days a year.

Harwood’s annual operating costs were given to me at $422,835 for that year.


Total Atlantic Salmon Stocked Produced at Harwood 2005-2012

Anyways, put the total of the fish raised and released at Ringwood and Harwood Hatcheries for this experiment since 2005 and 2012 and you have astronomical 4,413,858 fish and an additional 1,924,178 eyed eggs stocked as well.



Total Atlantic Salmon Stocked From 1987-2012

Now add those numbers together with those stocked between 1987/2004 and we now have a total of at least 6,742,000 fish and at least a minimum of 317,000 eyed eggs stocked in Lake Ontario’s north shore tributaries since the start of this idiotic program.
(all figures provided by Great Lakes Fishing Stocking Data Base) http://www.glfc.org/fishstocking/rangesearch.htm)




The Credit Pitiful Returns Should Be Looked On As No Returns

So where are the fish? Right from the start of this program the Atlantics have failed to survive, failed to return in any numbers to their release sites, and even failed to provide any resemblance of what could be referred to as a sport fishery.

The Credit River system by far receives the largest annual stocking of Atlantic Salmon and has been the focal point of stocking efforts. In the past, the Credit has been ‘the’ river to experiment and it’s only getting worse! In 2011 more than 390,000 Atlantics were stocked, along with 144,000 eyed eggs. In 2012 the Credit received 567,919 fish and additional 439,000 eyed eggs. A simple word for this travesty…asinine!

What returns have come back to the Credit?

-In 2011 33 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville
-In 2012 20 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville
- In 2013 9 adult salmon returned to the first barrier at Streetsville

Millions upon millions of fish stocked and 9 Atlantic Salmon come home to the Major Atlantic stocking site in Ontario!

This is one of 4 Atlantics that came back to Bowmanville...it looked at the dam and died in the net before release




At Bowmanville Creek, more than 11,000 chinook , coho and rainbow trout were hand lifted over the Bowmanville dam by volunteers. Out of that number only 4 Atlantics were found.




The All New Oregon Weir To Count Atlantics At Duffins Creek


And let’s not forget the much touted Oregon fish weir shipped from the west at a cost of $200,000 or more.

Well, the high money contraption was erected and low and behold the sum total as of this November was a total of 7 Atlantic adults at the costly imported construction.

Funny, but worrisome is the fact that I contacted the biologist at the Toronto Conservation Authority before the weir was delivered and inquired what his high water temperature levels were in the river close to Lake Ontario and he noted often as high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit…….duh that’s better referred to as Campbell soup water when it comes to Atlantic salmon.



Wrong Rivers / Wrong Techiques:

Now look back at what I said about Roger Greil and his reasons for success at Sault Ste. Marie on the American side at his university. He raises the right fish, to the correct size, imprints them perfectly and releases them at the same location. Ontario has not met this criteria at any of their locations. Roger raises, rears and releases his fish under perfect conditions. His fish are hatched, raised and released at just one site. That achieves perfect imprinting. His fish are also raised to approximately 20 months of age for optimum survival. When his surviving adults do come home they are greeted by perfectly cold water conditions due to the fact that Lake Superior empties in to the Soo Rapids at his home base. Again, Ontario is not able to replicate this at any of their sites. Ontario’s Atlantic salmon are reared at Normandale and Harwood or hatcheries at Ringwood, the CRAA hatchery, Sir Sanford Fleming or a few school hatcheries. The Atlantic yearling plus fish that go into Ontario streams for the most part are imprinted to those hatcheries. The fish raised by volunteer clubs are not reared to proper smolting age of 20 months but as fall fingerlings. In his years of study, Greil found no returns or pitiful returns from anything but yearling plus Atlantics and again they were imprinted from birth at the one release site.

Just as important is the cold water factor at the Soo Rapids. This is not the case on any of the large Ontario rivers like the Bronte, Credit, Duffins or others. Atlantic salmon return to the river as pre-spawning adults in June, July and August. Those Ontario rivers are at lethal temperatures at that time of the year. Fish chowder is more the results than fish survival.

With the Ontario program the vast majority of fish are stocked too young and too small for any long-term survival and then we dump them by the millions into rivers that are not receptive to the creatures. The present rivers are no way as clean or as cold as they once were when the fish went extinct back around 1887. Dams are still evident on most rivers, forests have been cut and cleared, temperature has risen and for the most part urban sprawl has either polluted them or made them lose their much-needed high oxygen requirements.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and their partner super-seed their river systems with far too many fish. Even if the young fish fail to survive long term, they will still decimate newly hatching upstream wild trout stocks that are hatching. You can only put so much water in a barrel or fish in a confined river or tributary. Millions upon millions of Atlantics have been stocked in the upper Credit and this does not help, but hinder hatching brown trout or brook trout and the fishery in that river. Common sense should have dictated smaller numbers when stocking, but common sense seems to be thrown out the window in an attempt to show some form of success for the program.

Our American Neighbours

As already noted in my opinion Roger Greil at Lake Superior State University has shown the most significant success with Atlantic salmon survival and resulting returns. Remember, his eggs are obtained at his site on the St. Mary’s River from returning wild stock. Those eggs are then hatched and the young fish retained at the same site until they reach smolting age 20 months later, when they are released at the same exact same site for maximum imprinting.

The St. Mary’s River is without a doubt a perfect location for experimenting and producing an Atlantic fishery. The waters are cold, clear and well oxygenated from Lake Superior located upstream. It is the only site on the entire Great Lakes that allows for this degree of success for rearing and releasing Atlantic salmon. The fact also has to be made that the St. Mary’s River’s ‘bottleneck’ physical structure and conditions drastically improves the sport fishery. Roger releases only approximately 50,000 advanced yearlings annually.

The State of Michigan experimented with Atlantic salmon in the past and cancelled their program for decades. Noting Greil’s success and to fill the void of their reduced Chinook fishery they are now experimenting on a ‘controlled’ Altantic program capped at approximately 100,000 Atlantic salmon ‘advanced’ yearlings per year. The majority of those plants will be stocked in the cold waters of the St. Mary’s River. Again, stocked in a perfect site, but without Greil’s imprinting success capabilities. Michgan State Atlantics are reared at the Platte River hatchery and then stocked in the St. Mary’s River. When questioned, Michigan authorities noted if they don’t achieve the desired results the program would be cancelled after no more than 6 to 7 years.

New York State has been stocking Atlantics consistently for years and has had some success, but unlike Ontario, rears and releases the vast majority of their fish as advanced yearlings (15 months) and 8 to 10 month old advanced fall fingerlings. They seldom stock more than 60,000 fish annually in total and prefer to raise them to 14-16 months of age. It is important to remember that New York State utilizes the Salmon River including Beaverdam Brook for the largest percentage of their stocking numbers for imprinting purposes.

Again, there is an Atlantic salmon sport fishery off New York State waters, but they stock minimal numbers of quality sized fish and imprint them properly utilizing the Salmon River where the greatest number of fish are stocked. It is interesting to note also that creel censuses and DNA sampling last year carried out by New York State indicated that all Atlantics caught by anglers were tested and came entirely from New York State stocked fish!!!

All this accomplished with a fraction of the fish raised and a fraction of the costs compared to Ontario’s foolish Atlantic experiment!!!!

Remember, our neighbouring American states raise fish for fishermen, for tourists and for the economy. Their programs are run as business, not as an experiment!!!

False Impressions

Over the past decade that I’ve been than following the Atlantic program. A lot of phone calls from Wisconsin to Newfoundland. I’ve talked and met with a lot of top fisheries people on both sides of the border. Not surprising, not one on the American side of the Great Lakes had any idea of the actual dismal success of the Ontario program. In fact, most believed the program and returns were going great guns. It seems no one on our side of Lake Ontario ever mentions the dismal returns to the Credit or Duffins or even Bowmanville. I sat in on one Lake Ontario meeting and listened to Ontario reps talk about the ‘new’ Duffins Creek weir being shipped from west coast, yet absolutely no mention of the dismal Atlantic Credit returns of 2011 and 2012.

One boss at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service even noted they were thinking about putting smaller Atlantics in some of their streams to achieve the same success as Ontario. What he had heard was the fry plants were doing great guns?

When I mentioned the true returns he replied with the phrase “someone over at the MNR must have a nose that’s growing”.

That nose is definitely growing, but if you check stocking sheets, the U.S. Federal agency since 2009 has been stocking tens of thousands of additional fingerlings annually with little chance of success. Hopefully, our American counterparts are not venturing into the same folly as Ontario. Fingerlings or fall fingerlings just don't cut.

When discussing Atlantics with the Credit River Conservation Authority, there was more concern about the vanishing brook trout than Atlantic salmon. I mentioned over stocking the waters above Norval, yet it seemed they were oblivious to the millions of Atlantics being stocked on top of the brown trout and brook trout in the Credit headwater that they were really concerned about.

Never, since the start of this program have I ever talked to one person outside of the Ontario program who were informed of the actual returns rates. Plenty of talk about stocking numbers and so-called river enhancement, but never about returning fish numbers.

On one other note, one Ontario biologist noted that in the mid-80’s it was brought up that that the original program should restrict their numbers to a maximum of only 50,000 yearling plus and only utilize two cold water rivers east of Toronto to attempt the experiment in the first place where the better conditions could be found. The suggestion was turned down and then the mistakes began.

The Lake Fishery

Since the late 1980’s we’ve now stocked close to 7 million Atlantics and over 300,000 eyed eggs. Just what has that provided the Lake Ontario open water angler? The simple answer is very little recreational benefits and very little return to the economy. In both cases, almost nothing. As already noted, New York, utilizing bigger sized smolts and better imprinting practices has developed a minor sport fishery. On the Canadian side of the lake the results have been dismal. Ontario’s most recognized fishing guides Randy Scott and Wayne Andrew’s are pioneers on the lake and have been guiding on Lake Ontario consistently for more than four decades. This past year from May until mid-September the longtime guides captured only two Atlantics each, while harvesting upwards of a thousand steelhead and Pacific salmon each. When it comes Atlantics the results were worse than pathetic. These professionals fish almost every day of the week from spring until early autumn and again caught a grand total of only four Atlantics.

The open water fishery for Atlantics is a bust.


The Alternatives

Like, I’ve already noted, I’ve been following the Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon program since it’s inception in the late 1980’s. The idea of self-sustaining natural reproducing Atlantic salmon on Lake Ontario’s north shore is asinine. Everything today is wrong for this creature. No matter what anybody would like to believe the rivers waters are nowhere near the conditions of the late 1880’s when the original stocks went extinct. Atlantic salmon for the most part return to the rivers in June/July/ and August. Today, the major rivers to the west of Toronto reach lethal water temperatures in this period and would for the most part kill any Atlantics entering, let alone attract them to enter.

The Credit River, the experiment’s main focus site, still has two major dams at Streetsville and Norval that are closed to other species. These dams not only stop natural migrations, but increase water temperatures to the lethal level. The same river has a number of water filtration plants on it’s banks. The river is not even close to the river of the 1880’s.

As a matter of fact, no river on the northern shore is of better quality today, than the rivers of the 1880’s. Simply look at population growth and the pollution that goes with it. All the trees planted and rocks placed cannot bring these rivers back to their pristine state prior to the 1880’s. Sorry, but it’s impossible. The tributaries west of Toronto are the worst examples.

The Atlantics are not a Pacific salmon or steelhead that run the rivers in fall, winter and spring depending specie. Atlantics first enter the tributaries in June, July and August and few if any of our rivers are cool enough for their survival today, especially the Bronte, Credit and Duffins Creek.

Again, stocking Atlantic salmon younger and smaller than advanced yearlings at a minimum of 8 inches is length leads to nothing but death of these fish.

Why in hell’s name are we wasting value hatchery space, expensive funding, lost fishing opportunities and lost tourism dollars to the economy on this program?

The obvious solution is to raise a maximum of no more than 50,000 advanced yearlings. Only two quality streams east of Toronto should be chosen as release sites that are more suited to beast. These two streams have to be east of Toronto for any type of success.

With the Atlantic program reduced from over a million Atlantics annually, both Normandale and Harwood fish hatcheries could be utilized in a much more productive manner for not only the fishery but economy that goes with it hand in hand. The reduction would free up space and funding.

Presently, thanks to a working arrangement between the Ontario Steelheaders, Lake Huron Fishing Club and the Ministry of Natural Resources 70,000 disease free Chambers Creek strain steelhead are being held at the Chatsworth facility. A portion of these steelhead (1,000) should be implemented into the MNR brood rearing program. Future yearling trout from these strain could be stocked in larger numbers in tributaries on Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Rainbow trout are a proven species that survive, provide year round fishing in both the open water and streams. A minimum of 100,000 could take up some of the hatchery space that would be made available with the removal or reduction on present Altlantic stockings.

Ontario would also be wise to also re-introduce the annual stocking of approximately 50,000 – 60,000 coho salmon ‘smolt’ that could utilize the additional space made available by the ‘intelligent’ decision to drastically curtail the present Atlantic program.

There’s more waste with the present Atlantic program than just what is happening in Provincial run facilities. Take into account the fact that more than 100,000 Atlantic salmon are presently being raised at facilities at Ringwood, Sir Sanford Fleming College and the CRAA operations. At the two volunteer run facilities alone, with Atlantics out, the tanks now producing no viable results could be utilized again with additional rainbow (Ganaraska and Chambers Creek strain) and properly reared coho ‘spring smolt’. Check and you will discover that the Americans for the most part utilize larger advanced yearling ‘smolt’ for their stocking purposes and their over all success.

Time For A Drastic Change

After more than 26 years of playing and experimenting with this creature, it’s time to stop or drastically reduce the program. It’s time to run the fishery like our American neighbours do, not as a grand experiment, but as a fishery for the angler and as a business to generate tourism dollars back into the economy.

As a fisherman, I look at stocking almost 7 million Atlantic salmon and stocking almost 2 million eyed eggs over the last 26 years and then getting a return of 9 Atlantics salmon back to Streetsville in 2013 as idiotic.

Everyone talks about the Liberal’s billion dollar Gas Plant Fiasco. As a fisherman, I look at the Atlantic Salmon experiment as a travesty. A travesty that I estimate we taxpayers have invested more than 5 million dollars to date and possibly a lot more. That doesn’t even include in my estimation the Sunshine salaries, research salaries and everything the MNR has tied in to this project that are connected with this experiment as well. It's a lot of money for wasting more than two and half decades of hatchery space, wasted fishing opportunities , wasted tourism revenue, other wasted revenues that could have related to the a successful fishery and finally no fish.

[craigdritchie]

 

There are corporate sponsors providing $$$ specifically for the Atlantic restoration program.

 

That - right there - is the entire problem with the Atlantic salmon program. It no longer has anything to do with fish. It is 100% about keeping the money rolling in.

[Garnet]

Just one small point. The original funding was from Ontario Heritage Fund. MNR got the money and the work.

 

I did the original temp profile for Wilmot, Oshawa,Bowmanville Creeks. Only Wilmot was close to acceptable and only if they got to the upper reaches. Other people did the other creeks.

 

On the east coast rivers you are not aloud to use tinsel on your fly's, why!

 

Yes the whole Atlantic program should be scrapped.

 

I would really like a list of stream re hab projects complete for this Program.

[Sinker]

 

That - right there - is the entire problem with the Atlantic salmon program. It no longer has anything to do with fish. It is 100% about keeping the money rolling in.

Bingo!! And OFAH is getting rich doing it.

 

 

S.

[Steve]

The Flaky One sure has been silent.

[Freshtrax]

Was my first year salmon trolling....I was out of Hamilton . By my best count. 9 lakers, 15 rainbows m 23 salmon. 0 Atlantics....on a positive note about 100 shakers.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Freshtrax

[Sinker]

The Flaky One sure has been silent.

Truth hurts?

[Steve]

For those out there that aren't familiar with the Lake Ontario fishery, especially as it relates to Brown Trout, I posted a poll on Spoonpullers, as I said I would.

 

http://www.spoonpullers.com/forums/index.php/topic,25162.msg150609/boardseen.html#new

 

My Poll Reads:

 

Very Simple. Has your boat caught more Atlantics or Browns.

More Browns: 63 votes (87.5%)

More Atlantics: 9 votes (12.5%)

 

 

Not at all surprising....