Fish hatcheries get $75 million – Ontario OUT of DOORS
A $75 million investment in Ontario’s fish hatcheries is expected to boost fishing opportunities across the province.
Infrastructure upgrades are planned for three critical fish culture stations to increase the production of key species and support stocking efforts, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) announced Dec. 16.
The upgrades include:
- Construction of a new building for raising walleye at the Blue Jay Creek Fish Culture Station on Manitoulin Island to increase walleye production by as much as 600% annually
- Improvements to the North Bay Fish Culture Station to enable stocking of more than 555,000 high-demand fish, including brook, lake, and rainbow trout.
- Upgrades to the Hill’s Lake Fish Culture Station in Englehart to increase its capacity to raise and stock more than 530,000 popular fish, including splake and aurora trout.
Modernization planned
Planned improvements include replacing aging infrastructure, increasing capacity for growing larger fish, and making operations more efficient and cost effective in part by reducing energy consumption.
“These investments are great news for fishing enthusiasts across Ontario,” Minister of Natural Resources Graydon Smith stated in a release. “We are modernizing Ontario’s world-class fish culture and stocking program making sure we are best positioned to meet current and future needs … These improvements will contribute to the sustainable management of fish populations and add to the economic and social benefits of fishing in Ontario.”
Fish are raised in fish culture stations prior to being released into lakes to support fishing and conservation.
Evaluation needed: OFAH
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), its members, and affiliate clubs are very enthusiastic about the announcement, OFAH Executive Director Matt DeMille stated in the release.
“Stocking is an important fisheries management tool that can provide diverse angling opportunities, help rehabilitate depleted stocks and divert angling effort away from more sensitive fisheries,” he stated. “To get the most out of these important infrastructure upgrades, the MNR will need to evaluate the performance of its entire stocking program and establish FMZ-level stocking strategies to benefit fisheries and enhance the angler experience.”
The ministry stocks approximately eight million fish weighing a combined 200 metric tons into more than 1,200 public waterbodies annually. At peak times, there are some 20 million fish within the ministry’s nine fish culture stations.
The province has more than 250,000 lakes and 490,000 kilometres of rivers. More than 1.5 million recreational anglers have an economic impact of $1.6 billion per year in Ontario, the province stated.