MNR lake surveys will help manage fisheries
Thursday, May 24, 2012 by: SooToday.com Staff
NEWS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF
NATURAL RESOURCES
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Lake surveys will help manage fisheries
Fisheries crews from the Ministry of Natural Resources will be out on Ontario’s lakes this summer monitoring fish populations, taking water samples and checking for invasive species.
If you're on a lake that is being monitored and see Ministry of Natural Resources buoys, please don’t lift the nets or buoys, and avoid recreational activities between and around the buoys.
All nets will be clearly marked.
Information gathered through these surveys will be used to help make decisions about managing fisheries, including setting seasons and size limits for anglers.
Five-year monitoring cycle
This year’s lake surveys mark the end of a five-year cycle to collect information for fisheries management.
Over the last four years, the ministry has monitored approximately 700 lakes across Ontario.
The information gathered will be reviewed and used to enhance the monitoring program for the next five-year cycle.
In the northeast, crews will conduct netting surveys in 15 lakes in Fisheries Management Zone 7 (around Nipigon, Geraldton, and Wawa), one lake in Zone 8 (north of Cochrane), three lakes in Zone 1 (near the Hudson Bay coast), and two lakes in Zone 3 (north of Geraldton) for a total of 21 lakes scheduled to be surveyed this field season.
See the list of lakes that are being “netted” for the broad-scale fisheries monitoring program in the Northeast Region in 2012.
Lake surveys are done by Ministry of Natural Resources staff with the support of summer field staff hired from colleges and universities and local communities.
About 1.27 million anglers fish in Ontario each year, spending more than $2.5 billon annually on fisheries-related products and services.
To find out more about Ontario’s aquatic resources and the great angling opportunities they provide, visit Fish ON-Line at ontario.ca/fishing.
