PROMOTING HEALTHY FISHERIES AND A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

For Immediate Release
October 24, 2008

PROMOTING HEALTHY FISHERIES AND A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
McGuinty Government Makes Newly Renovated Fish Culture Station A Reality

A newly modernized and expanded Dorion Fish Culture Station is now open.  The station is the centrepiece of the Ontario government’s efforts to sustain native fish species in the Great Lakes.

The $17-million, three-year expansion project doubled Dorion’s production capacity, meaning it can supply up to 1.4 million yearlings for fish stocking and rehabilitating degraded fisheries. 

Dorion is home to provincially important stocks of fish used for breeding purposes, including lake trout for the Great Lakes.  This stocking program means the Great Lakes have hardier stocks of native species like lake trout and Atlantic salmon.  Healthier stocks are better able to compete with invasive species and help keep the lakes’ ecosystems in balance.

New upgrades at Dorion include an enclosed building for protection from the elements and predators, a specialized isolation facility to reduce health risks to the fish from wild spawn collection, a waste treatment program for the water discharged from the hatchery and an energy-efficient geothermal heating system.

QUOTES

“Dorion Fish Culture Station is now a state-of-the-art facility that will make an important contribution to fisheries in the northwest for years to come,” said Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield.  “Fish stocking is key to rehabilitating and restoring fisheries – part of our biodiversity – and to providing more opportunities for anglers.”

“The re-opening of the new state-of-the-art Dorion Fish Culture Station is great news for the community, for Northwestern Ontario and for the province,” said Thunder Bay MPP Michael Gravelle.  “It will help make sure Northwestern Ontario continues to be renowned for the fantastic fishing it offers and provide an economic boost to the community.” 

QUICK FACTS

• The Ministry of Natural Resources operates nine provincial fish culture stations which produce approximately six to seven million fish for stocking in public waters each year.

• Dorion Fish Culture Station is the only ministry hatchery serving the fisheries management needs of the northwest region and western Lake Superior.

• Fish from Dorion Fish Culture Station are stocked in waters ranging from the Manitoba border in the west to Manitouwadge in the east, and from Lake Superior in the south to Red Lake in the north.

LEARN MORE

• Find out more about fish culture and stocking in Ontario  (ontario.ca/fishing)

For More Information

Ivan Langrish, Minister’s Office, 416-314-2212

Barry Radford, Communications Services Branch, 416-314-2123

ontario.ca/natural-resources-news

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)