Thanks to volunteer efforts of Gore Bay Fish and Game Club members
GORE BAY—The Gore Bay Community Fish Hatchery and a dedicated group of volunteers from the Gore Bay Fish and Game Club (GBFGC) had another successful year raising walleye fingerlings.
For 51 consecutive days these fish were nurtured from a very small—0.44 of a gram on average to a 10-fold increase of just over four grams. Larger fish mean a much better chance of long-term survival in their new home in Lake Kagawong, a release noted.
A core group of dedicated volunteers monitored all workings of the hatchery twice a day, kept the system clean and fed the fish.
From an initial 10,000 fish received on July 4 from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) Blue Jay hatchery to August 23, the fish steadily advanced in size.
On stocking day (August 23) an average weight is determined and then all of the fish are weighed in bulk lots to determine the final numbers.
“A total of 7,003 walleye are now calling Lake Kagawong home. This is a very good success rate as raising walleye in a hatchery setting can be very difficult,” the release notes.
“The GBFGC would like to sincerely thank the following groups and individuals that all played an integral part in this year’s venture: The Sudbury District MNRF and the Blue Jay Hatchery staff and manager Dale Jordison, Mike Meeker who has always been able to assist in many ways; the ‘on the ground volunteers’ Randy German, Paul Leclair, Ches Witty, Paul Soucy, Doug Knechtel, Gord Brown, Pat Leveille, Chris Robinson, Barry Wall and Ian Anderson; the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) for their annual financial contributions to help offset hatchery costs and the Town of Gore Bay and treasurer Mike Lalonde who allow our hatchery to be run from the old town pump house location and assist us with the financial administration,” the release continues.
This is a great example of a community run fish rearing hatchery which will ultimately benefit Manitoulin.
