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ProposalTo lower rainbow trout limits in Lake Ontario

From:5fishperday(SportFishinglicence) 2fishperday(Conservationlicence)

To: 2fishperday(SportFishinglicence) 1fishperday(Conservationlicence)

Note that the aggregate limit of 5 for Sport Fishing and 2 for Conservation still applies for Trout and Salmon:SportFishinglicenseaggregatelimitof5troutandsalmon-2ofwhichcanberainbowtrout.Conservationlicenceaggregatelimitof2troutandsalmon-1ofwhichcanberainbowtrout.

PurposeRainbowtroutpopulationshavedeclinedinLakeOntarioandareahighlyvaluedpartoftheLakeOntariorecreationalfishery.Exces-sivefishingpressureisviewedbythepublicasastressoronRainbowTroutpopulations.Ifimplemented,theproposedreductionincatchandpossessionlimitsforrainbowtroutwill:• Contributetoincreasingtheabundance ofrainbowtroutinLakeOntario;• Reduceharvestofrainbowtrout;• HarmonizeLakeOntariorainbowlimits withthoseofitstributaries;• AlignlimitsmorecloselywiththeNew YorksideofLakeOntario;• ContributetoachievingLakeOntario’s FishCommunityObjectivesandthe managementobjectivesoftributary watershedmanagementplans.

Zone20consistsofOntariowatersofthelowerNiagaraRiver,LakeOntario,andtheSt.LawrenceRiver

Proposed Regulation ChangeRainbow Trout Catch and Possession Limits for Fisheries Management Zone 20 (Lake Ontario)

Background

AnativetothewestcoastofNorthAmerica,rainbowtrout(alsocalledSteelhead)werefirststockedintoOntariowatersofLakeOntariointhelate1920s.Bythe1960srainbowtroutwereestablishedinmanystreamsandriversflowingintoLakeOntario.

Underthecurrentbi-nationalfisheriesplanforLakeOntario,therearetwoobjectivesspecifictorainbow trout:• Theoffshorepelagicfishcommunitywill becharacterizedbyabundantpopulations ofrainbowtrout,and• Naturallyproduced(wild)salmonand trout(especiallyrainbowtrout)willbepres entinamountsthatareconsistentwith fisheryandwatershedplans.

Theseobjectivesreflectaninterestinmaintain-ingandenhancingLakeOntario’srainbowtroutfishery.Toachievetheseobjectives,theprovincereliesmainlyonthesustainabilityofitswildpopu-lationsasthemajorityofLakeOntariorainbowtroutarenaturallyproduced.Rainbowtroutac-countforlessthan10%ofthetotalnumberoftroutandsalmonstockedinLakeOntarioandstockinglevelshaveremainedrelativelystablesincetheearly1990satabout160,000rainbowtroutperyear.

Provide FeedbackTheministryisencouragingthepublicto providefeedbackonthisproposal.

Pleasesendcommentsincludinganindicationofwhetherornotyousupportoropposethisproposal to:

MarcDesjardinsLakeOntarioManagementUnit41FishHatcheryLane,RR#4Picton,ONK0K2T0Phone:(613)476-3287email:fmz20@ontario.ca

Rainbowtroutrankedasmostsoughtafterbyanglersina2003MNRsurveyofanglersintheLakeOntariowatershed.Itisthesecondmostencounteredspeciesintheboatfisheryandtheprimarytargetofthetributaryfisheries.Ofthenearly21,000rainbowtroutcaughtin2005,17,500wereharvested(aharvestrateof84%).

RainbowtroutabundanceinLakeOntariopeakedinthelate1980sbuthassincedeclinedwhilecatchratesintheboatfisheryhavesteadilydeclinedfromthemid1980s.SimilartrendsinrainbowtroutabundanceweredocumentedonotherGreatLakesduringthisperiod.Factorscitedincludedegradedenvironmentalconditionsandincreasedfishingpressure.

EstimatedupstreamcountsofrainbowtroutattheGanaraskaRiverFishwayduringAprilandMay1974-2009(blue)andrainbowtroutcatchratesintheLakeOntarioboatfishery(red).

Zone20fisheriesAdvisoryCouncil

Theproposedregulationchangeforrainbowtroutinzone20wasdevelopedbytheMinistryofNatu-ralResourceswiththehelpoftheFisheriesMan-agementZone20AdvisoryCouncil.Theadvisorycouncilisacommitteeofvolunteerswhorepre-sentthepublicandabroadarrayofstakeholdergroupsthathaveaninterestinthelocalfisheriesresources.Tolearnmoreabouttheroleofadvi-sorycouncilsinmanagingOntario’srecreationalfisheries,visitwww.ontario.ca/zonecouncils.

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Ontario.ca/zonecouncils