Specially Designated Waters - Lake Simcoe

The Lake Simcoe Specially Designated Waters (SDW) are located about 1 hour north of Toronto within Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ) 16. The designation includes all 722 sq kilometres of Lake Simcoe and its watershed, incorporating Lake Couchiching (connected via the Atherly Narrows) and its watershed to the north. More than 35 inflowing tributaries, including the Holland, Black, Pefferlaw, Green and Beaver Rivers as well as some sections of the Severn River are also part of the Lake Simcoe SDW.

Newmarket and Aurora are two large urban communities in the southern part of the watershed. Barrie is the lake's largest city, located on the northwest side of the watershed on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Orillia borders both lakes Simcoe and Couchiching at the north end. Other lakeshore communities include Beaverton, Gilford, Keswick, Lefroy, Pefferlaw, Sutton, Stroud and Washago. The lakeshore is home to Mara, McRae and Sibbald provincial parks

Why is Lake Simcoe "Specially Designated"?

Lake Simcoe is a popular fishing destination with a world-class fishery. It is the most intensively fished inland lake in the province of Ontario. It is one of the busiest winter fisheries in North America. In fact, more people fish on Lake Simcoe from January 1st to March 15th than the rest of the year combined.

Lake Simcoe's fisheries are very important to local economies. They provide significant socio-economic benefits to communities around the lake. The lake has an outstanding diversity of popular fish species (e.g., lake trout, lake whitefish, perch and smallmouth bass) that attract anglers from across southern Ontario and neighbouring states.

Lake Simcoe is the largest and most southerly inland lake in Ontario that supports lake trout and lake whitefish fisheries. There are more people living within an hour's drive of this SDW than any other lake in the province. This population base is expected to increase substantially within the next few decades and fishing pressure has increased steadily over time and is expected to continue to increase.  

In order to effectively manage this dynamic body of water, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has classified Lake Simcoe as Specially Designated Waters so that they can be managed differently (when required) than the surrounding FMZ 16. This special management focus, combined with intensive monitoring by MNR staff at the Lake Simcoe Fisheries Assessment Unit, will help to sustain the biodiversity of this watershed and maintain the great fishing opportunities the lake offers now and for future generations.

What else makes Lake Simcoe "special" within FMZ 16?

The Lake Simcoe Protection Act was passed in 2008 to protect and restore the health of Lake Simcoe and its watersheds. This groundbreaking watershed-based Act gave rise to the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan published in June 2009. The Plan identifies a number of actions the government and its partners are committed to take, to improve the health of the lake and its watershed. View the Plan on the Ministry of the Environment website.

If you have any further questions on the Lake Simcoe SDW, its fishing regulations or any of the fisheries management initiatives being undertaken on the lake, please contact:

Emily Funnell
Management Biologist - Lake Simcoe and Area
Ministry of Natural Resources
Aurora District,
50 Bloomington Rd. W.
Aurora, ON
L4G 0L8

Tel: 905-713-7404
Fax: 905-713-7361

E-mail: emily.funnell@ontario.ca