LAKE ONTARIO ATLANTIC SALMON RESTORATION PROGRAM

For Immediate Release
November 29, 2007

LAKE ONTARIO ATLANTIC SALMON RESTORATION PROGRAM
Backgrounder

Bringing back wild populations of Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario is one of the largest freshwater conservation projects in North America.  Among the more than 30 partners and sponsors taking part in this effort are the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Australia’s Banrock Station Wines, Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association, Fishing Forever Foundation, Fleming College, Trout Unlimited, Trees Ontario Foundation, conservation authorities, and local community groups and landowners. 

Current restoration efforts are focused on three Lake Ontario streams: Duffins Creek, Credit River and Cobourg Brook.  These streams were chosen because of their high-quality spawning and nursery habitat, and strong community support. 

Launched in 2006, the Atlantic salmon restoration partnership will benefit from contributions of more than $5 million over five years by partners and sponsors.  Funding and in-kind support are going towards enhanced fish production and stocking, research and monitoring, habitat rehabilitation and stewardship, and education and outreach initiatives. 

• Over 700,000 Atlantic young salmon have been stocked since May 2006.
• 240 volunteers have contributed 1,350 hours of their time to help stock Atlantic salmon into suitable habitats.
• Atlantic salmon are produced at the ministry’s Normandale Fish Culture Station, OFAH/Toronto Sportsmen’s Show Ringwood Hatchery, Sir Sandford Fleming College, Belfountain Community Hatchery, Pine Valley Springs Hatchery and Credit River Anglers Association Hatchery.
• To improve chances for successful restoration of self-sustaining populations in Lake Ontario, several strains of Atlantic salmon with contrasting characteristics are being introduced.

RESEARCH AND MONITORING

• Juvenile Atlantic salmon were intensively monitored this spring at a station in the lower reaches of Cobourg Brook.  Preliminary estimates suggest about 8,000 Atlantic salmon smolts from the first year of stocking migrated out of this stream into Lake Ontario.  These fish will spend at least one year feeding in the lake before returning to spawn for the first time.
• Growth of juveniles in the restoration streams has been excellent.  Atlantic salmon stocked as 1g fry in the spring averaged 13g in the fall.
• Program partners monitor returns of adult Atlantic salmon in each of the restoration streams, program partners looking for signs of successful natural reproduction.
• Each Atlantic salmon brood fish in the hatchery has been implanted with a special microchip.  A genetic profile for each individual fish will enable the program to obtain very accurate information about Atlantic salmon found in the streams and the lake during monitoring efforts.
• An area of the lake close to Cobourg Brook was surveyed this spring to assess the nearshore conditions juvenile Atlantic salmon will face when they migrate out of the stream and into the lake.

HABITAT REHABILITATION AND STEWARDSHIP

• Eight habitat protection and/or rehabilitation projects were completed in 2006, and a further 17 projects were undertaken in 2007.  Projects included streamside plantings, stream-bank stabilization, and construction of cattle crossings and by-pass channels.
• In 2006, 125 volunteers contributed 927 hours towards habitat restoration, with 2007 projects still underway.
• Surveys were done on Duffins Creek, Cobourg Brook and Bronte Creek to identify prime Atlantic salmon habitat and map barriers such as dams and log jams which might prevent upstream migration of returning spawners.
• The largest project to date was the construction of a naturalized channel, over 100 metres long, to bypass a 2.3-hectare pond on Rogers Creek – a tributary of the Credit River.  The pond was warming the stream by four to six degrees Celsius and preventing upstream fish passage.  This project will significantly increase the amount of habitat that is hospitable to Atlantic salmon.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

• Habitat rehabilitation and information workshops have been held on the three target watersheds and two proposed watersheds for the next phase of the restoration program (Bronte Creek and the Humber River).
• In 2007, 18 classes and three outdoor education centres raised Atlantic salmon in classroom hatcheries.  An additional 20 classes are expected to participate in this program in 2008.  Students were able to observe the development of Atlantic salmon from the egg to feeding fry stage in a classroom setting and learn about conservation of natural aquatic ecosystems.
• Public and media events occurred during each of the three annual stocking periods (April, May, October/November).

For more information about the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program or to find out how you can get involved, visit ontario.ca/fishing/ or www.bringbackthesalmon.ca/.

For More Information

Marion Daniels
Lake Ontario Management Unit
705-755-1345

General Enquiries

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