Fish Stocking In Algonquin Park 2009

By Garry Waito    BAFN Family Head

On Monday May 4, 2009 I had the opportunity to participate in the MNR Restocking program in Algonquin Park. I have taken pictures as well as video, so that I could share this experience with everyone who has not had the opportunity to experience this first hand. Brook Trout and Splake were the fish that were used this year to stock some of our lakes. The fish was supplied by the hatchery in North Bay Ontario.

Elizabeth McRae (Resource Management Technician) added these comments for me:

The purpose of our fish stocking is to provide high quality fishing opportunities within 1 portage of the park's development zone, which includes the Highway 60 corridor. These lakes are referred to as "Put, grow and take stocking lakes". By stocking easily accessible lakes along Highway 60, we can hopefully relieve some of the fishing pressure on our important self sustaining lake trout and brook trout lakes in the park.

Brad Steinberg (Algonquin Park Biologist )Asked me to add the following:

In Algonquin Park we only stock lakes that do not have native reproducing trout in them. Some lakes simply do not have the right spawning beds so trout can not reproduce in them - but they can survive. So we plant Brook Trout or Splake in some of these lakes every year or so.
Stocking has two very important purposes. First - it provides additional high quality angling opportunities. Second, and most
importantly, it diverts fishing pressure from sensitive natural Trout Lakes. In some cases a Natural Brook Trout Lake may only have an adult population of 100 Brook Trout (for example - Westward Lake in Algonquin Park). Trout lakes are very easy to over harvest. However, with stocked lakes, because we replant the fish every other year, there are fewer conservation concerns about over harvest. We encourage any Aboriginal Harvesters that are Winter Fshing to take advantage of the stocked lakes where we can literally 'replace' the fish and over harvest is a non-issue. Another reason we don't stock Natural Trout Lakes is because Hatchery Fish come from a variety of Genetic Strains and could Interbreed with our Algonquin Evolved Trout - we don't want to ruin 10,000 years of evolution by introducing Non-Algonquin Trout Genes into a population.

The stocking Fish that we introduce to the Lakes are usually about 14 months old - and have been reared in an MNR run Fish Hatchery. We use several Hatcheries including White Lake and North Bay.

Some of the stocked fish are eaten by other fish, by loons, otters etc. However, we do plant thousands of fish to compensate for this so that enough young fish make it to adulthood and can be harvested.

After reading the above I think you will agree with me the need to make sure that no Live Bait is used within Algonquin Park so as to protect the Native Trout......Please adhere to the No Live Bait Policy within Algonquin Park....... Please pass on the No Live Bait Policy and WHY it is in place....

The Following Lakes Were Stocked With Brook Trout On Monday May 4, 2009 From Clark Lake:

Leaf Lake, Bluff Lake, Little Minnow Lake, Myra Lake, Marmot Lake, Farm Bay Lake, Sandy Lake and Cecil Lake.

The Following Lakes Were Stocked with Splake On Monday May 4, 2009 From Clark Lake:

Speckled Trout Lake, Rosepond Lake, Provoking Lake, Coon Lake, Sunday Lake And Billy Lake.

The Following Lakes were Stocked With Splake On Tuesday May 5, 2009 From Smoke Lake:

Provoking Lake, Claude Lake, Jack Lake, Grape Lake, Maple Leaf Lake And Ermine Lake.

Click On Album Picture Below to go to to the Fish stocking Photo Gallery

Click On Video Screen above To Watch the 3 Video's

Video 1 is filling the holding tanks with fingerlings.

Video 2  is the actual release of the fingerlings in in selected lakes within the highway 60 coridor in Algonquin Park.

Video 3 is a documentary about The Natural Brook Trout Lakes of Algonquin Park.

Click On Video Screen above To Watch A Video On The releasing Of Fish Stock On 4 Lakes.

A Special thank You To Brad Steinberg The Park Biologist And Elizabeth McRae The Stocking Coordinator For allowing Me To Take Part In This Worthwhile Project And Allowing Me To Put This On Our website So Everyone Can Appreciate All the Hard Work And Time That Goes Into Keeping Our Trout Population Healthy And Abundant.

The Pembroke District MNR  Has Started Their Stocking Program. Below Is Taken From The Pembroke Observer This Week May 9, 2009.

A unique airlift operation has commenced this week to restock Renfrew County lakes.

The Pembroke District Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is overseeing the annual fish restock which takes place in late April and early May.

Over a four-day period, numerous lakes in the region have been restocked with species of Lake Trout, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout and Splake, a hybrid between Lake and Brook Trout. Most of the replenishment has been done from the air using a helicopter to safely drop fish into their new home.

"We use a helicopter because it's more efficient than transporting fish over terrain to each individual lake," Darwin Rosien, senior fish and wildlife technical specialist at the MNR Pembroke District office, said as he supervised the loading of fish into a helicopter at a landing site near Barron Canyon Road about 10 km east of the Algonquin Park boundary. "Ninety per cent of the lakes you can't get to by road. Even if we could it would take weeks to stock them."

This day's stocking of 15,050 fish, which included 13,850 Brook Trout and 4,700 Splake, were initially reared at a fish culture station in North Bay. They were transported by truck to the landing site where they were loaded into six compartmental tanks aboard an extended Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. Each tank can hold 18 kilograms of fish in addition to the water in each tank compartment.

Mr. Rosien said transporting the fish by helicopter is less stressful and more cost-efficient than by truck.

"With the sheer volume of fish we are dealing with, it is more efficient by helicopter. I can cover the entire district and it reduces overall costs," said Mr. Rosien.

Fish are supplied with oxygen and have a comfortable ride until they reach their destination. Then, with the helicopter hovering four feet from the water's surface, they are gently released by a pulley and are deposited through a chute into the lake.

"The result is that the fish mortality is virtually nil," he said. Restocking occurs at this time of year when lake temperatures match the hatchery water temperature the fish were raised in.

While most lakes in the province are naturally self-sustaining, Mr. Rosien said there is a number of lakes that are maintained through stocking as Put-Grow-Take fisheries.

In addition, restocked lakes take the pressure off naturally sustaining lakes which are closed at times in order to ensure fish stocks are not depleted. This year, Mr. Rosien will restock 120 lakes in his district, which encompasses all of Renfrew County.

"This is a good example of angler's licence dollars at work," he said.

The man helming this vital mission from the air is Dan Ireland, a pilot with 32-years experience including 12 with the MNR. He flies an extended version of the Jet Ranger helicopter called the Bell Long Ranger on trips which can go as long as 20 minutes. Mary-Beth Stewart, with the Pembroke District office, acts as his navigator guiding the pilot to the scheduled lakes using an onboard Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and map. While the view is spectacular, he admitted it's tricky approaching and departing the isolated lakes he has been stocking.

"You really have to watch the winds," Mr. Ireland said during a refuelling stop. "The turbulence is a little surprising. Not dangerous, but surprising. You have to make your approach very slowly."

Not all lakes are restocked annually. Mr. Rosien uses data accumulated from reports, including ones from anglers, to determine which lakes will be targeted.

On this particular day, Crownowned lakes in North Algona/Wilberforce, the former McKay Township in the Town of Laurentian Hills and the former Fraser Township in Laurentian Valley are on the list for restocking.

Mr. Rosien said restocking is essential to maintaining the recreational fishing industry in Renfrew County, an industry that generates millions of dollars year round.

"If we didn't have a fish stocking program in this area, we would not have the number of fishing opportunities available for anglers to enjoy. In addition, the stocking program contributes big economic benefits to local businesses through the purchasing activities of anglers" he said.

Sean Chase is a Daily Observer reporter

Please direct any comments or inquiries to: Chief Richard Zohr

   Webmaster ( Garry Waito )