Fish culture and stocking in Ontario

Figure 1: Ministry of Natural Resources Fish Culture Stations in Ontario.

The Ministry of Natural Resources currently operates nine fish culture stations (Figure 1).  A tenth facility, Ringwood, is being operated under an arrangement with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters until fall 2011.  Fish species reared at these 10 stations include Atlantic salmon, aurora trout, brook trout, brown trout, splake, lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, walleye, Chinook salmon and coho salmon.  

Approximately half of fish that are cultured are used to provide angling opportunities; the other half are used to rehabilitate degraded fish populations and restore biodiversity. 

Figure 2: Number of fish stocked from Ministry of Natural Resources’ Fish Culture Stations from 2000 to 2009. The numbers for 2007-2009 include fish produced at Ringwood FCS under agreement with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Species include Atlantic salmon, aurora trout, brook trout, brown trout, splake, lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, walleye, Chinook and Coho salmon.

Figure 3: Number of fish stocked, by species, from Ministry of Natural Resources’ Fish Culture Stations in 2009.

The Ministry of Natural Resources’ Fish Culture Program is an important part of Ontario’s fisheries management program.  There are many examples where stocking has been successful in helping to manage fish populations sustainably:

• Five unique strains of lake trout are being restored in the Great Lakes. Assessment surveys indicate that this stocking effort has been effective in re-establishing naturally reproducing populations of lake trout in the eastern basin of Lake Superior.
• Lake trout and lake whitefish populations in Lake Simcoe are being preserved through annual wild spawn collections and stocking activities.  Populations of both species have grown dramatically in Lake Simcoe as a result of stocking, and there is evidence of successful natural reproduction.
• Fish populations in a number of acid rain–stressed lakes in northeastern Ontario have been successfully rehabilitated.
• Stocking the Mishibishu strain of lake trout in the Montreal River and the Dog River has helped to re-establish spawning runs of the fish.  Since the Mishibishu strain was collected largely from river-spawning populations in Lake Superior before their disappearance, this is a significant achievement for lake trout rehabilitation in Lake Superior.  
• Rainbow trout, brook trout, and splake stocked in inland lakes and the Great Lakes to support hatchery-dependent fishing opportunities are providing good returns to anglers.
• Summer and fall walleye fingerlings (young fish the size of an adult finger) stocked by the Ministry of Natural Resources have shown exceptionally good survival rates.
• The program has also been successful in preventing the extinction of aurora trout, an endangered species unique to northern Ontario.  
• The lake trout population in Red Lake has shown a decline over the past decade.  The Fish Culture Program is rearing and stocking lake trout yearlings while the cause of the decline is investigated and resolved.
• In the late 1980s and 1990s, the Fish Culture Program helped to rehabilitate Big Rideau Lake and Charleston Lake by assisting with wild egg collections, rearing, and stocking of lake trout.  Natural reproduction is now occurring in these lakes, and they no longer require the support of the Fish Culture Program.