Concerns expressed on tourism impact as larger fish off limits
MANITOULIN—There are differing views among anglers on changes made by the province to lower the possession size of walleye in fisheries management zone (FMZ) 10, which includes Manitoulin Island. Some anglers are upset with the changes, while others feel it is needed to help the walleye fish population recover on inland lakes.
FMZ 10 spans from Wawa across to Elk Lake, then down to the mouth of the French River. It’s southern and western boundaries are the shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior and includes inland lakes on Manitoulin Island.
“I see for FMZ 10 walleye previously (under a sport fishing licence) you could keep one walleye over 46 centimetres and four in total a day, now you cannot take anything over 46 centimetres,” said Bill Strain, past president of the Little Current Fish and Game Club and former operator of Whitehaven Cottages on Sheguiandah Bay. “The thing that bothers me about this is that the MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) totally neglected the tourism aspect of all of this. When they reduced the number of bass from six to three that could be taken in the North Channel previously, we lost 20 percent of our business.” He said it makes it more difficult to get tourists and families with children from areas such as Ohio to come up to fish if they can only catch four small fish.
Lou Shortt, current president of the Little Current Fish and Game Club said, “I’m not really happy with the new regulations. Number one, the sport fishers of Ontario are once again taking the brunt. How many people are going to come up from the US and parts of Ontario to catch and keep four fish that are no more than 46 centimetres?”
“It’s a little frustrating for a sports fisherman who comes to Ontario from Quebec, the US or other areas to try to catch a trophy sized fish and they can only catch four small fish,” said Mr. Shortt. “How is this going to help tourism? And commercial fishery operators and nets can strip lakes like Manitowaning Bay and up the North Channel with nets and take all the big fish. It doesn’t make much sense to me.”
Long-time Manitoulin angler Dave Patterson took a different view of the fish regulation changes. “I’m in favour of the changes, in fact I think they should be tougher. Manitoulin Island should be in its own zone, say Zone 10b, instead of being included in all of FMZ 10.”
“For Lakes Manitou and Kagawong the regulations should be kept the same,” said Mr. Patterson. He said that historically, walleye is an invasive species in those lakes. In Lake Manitou, Mr. Patterson said walleye have killed off lake trout populations by eating the food that the trout would traditionally eat.
“For every other lake I think the take should be one fish (over 46 centimetres) and one under,” said Mr. Patterson. “The fishing is not what it used to be anywhere. I’d also like Lake Mindemoya closed off to fishing of walleye. It used to be among the best places around to fish (walleye) and basically now there is nothing in it.” He said the lack of stocking, overfishing and quagga mussels have had a major impact on this fish population.
Moe Gauthier, who runs a local Screamin’ Reels Fishing Charters told The Expositor, “I haven’t dug into all the regulation changes, but they basically have eliminated people from keeping every fish they catch. I don’t think this is a bad thing. In FMZ 10 the limits are still adequate.”
“Most of the people that come up for Island fishing in the North Channel are only allowed two fish. I have people come from places like Sarnia and Ottawa. They just want to come here to have fun and do some fishing,” said Mr. Gauthier.
“I think the changes will be good down the road for the fishery itself,” said Mr. Gauthier. “Let’s just say my heart is not broken with the changes in the fishing regulations. We have an incredible fishery but with the lack of stocking and other things it is not what it used to be, so I think the changes are a good thing.”
“The new regulations are good for the fish, and their future,” said Mr. Gauthier. “Four under (46 centimetres) is more than enough.” He said prior to the collapse of the salmon fishery in Lake Huron in the ‘90s he was of the opinion to keep every fish caught. “When the salmon fishery crashed, it showed how precious fish populations are and how quickly things can change. It changed me as an angler. And the same thing can easily happen to walleye.”
Members of the Gore Bay Fish and Game Club (GBFGC) discussed the issue at a meeting last week. Chris Robinson, president of the club said, “we think the changes are positive. Not having any fish taken over 46 centimetres will help protect the big female walleye.” He said the club is in favour of the season being shortened by two weeks in the spring, now closing on the third Sunday in March instead of March 31 is also positive. “It protects the females who are ready to spawn under the ice.”
Megan Forbes, a spokesperson for the MNRF told the Expositor, “Walleye are the most targeted sport fish species among recreational anglers in FMZ 10 in summer and second most targeted in winter. Provincial monitoring results show that the walleye population in FMZ10 is among the lowest of northern FMZs, and particularly adults walleye abundance is below levels considered sustainable.”
“The previous possession limits for walleye were in place since 2008. There have been small improvements since 2008 in some indicators of walleye status within FMZ10, however, several indicators suggest that walleye populations remain stressed,” said Ms. Forbes. “Changes will help to ensure sustainable fisheries management, while helping to protect, preserve and recover walleye populations.”
Ms. Forbes explained, “There are well-established indicators (from studies/literature) of fish population health (e.g., low abundance, high growth rates, small number of age classes, low recruit age). These indicators were calculated from broad-scale monitoring (BsM), data and compared to benchmarks and regionally. Values of these indicators in FMZ 10 suggest that populations are stressed compared to benchmarks and other lakes in Northern Ontario. Monitoring fish is a critical part of managing recreational fisheries. Population monitoring supports fisheries management be detecting changes in fish populations and aquatic ecosystems and can be used to describe the overall health of a population.”
“BsM is the primary approach used to monitor fisheries across the province,” continued Ms. Forbes. “The purpose of the BsM program is to provide information about the health of Ontario’s inland lakes and recreational fish species, specifically at the fisheries management zone scale. Data collected through the BsM program is presented in reports used to help display and understand information on the status of Ontario’s fisheries.”
Along with the regulation changes for walleye, for northern pike, the daily catch limits are six with a sport fishing licence, not more than 1 greater than 61 centimetres and non-greater than 86 centimetres. The daily limit is two with a conservation fishing licence, none greater than 61 centimetres.
For muskellunge, the daily limit under a sport fishing licence remains one. The minimum size limit under a sport fishing licence will go from 122 centimetres to 137 centimetres in the following water bodies: Echo River, Echo Lake, Mississagi River, Serpent River, Thessalon River, Wanapitae River, Spanish River, Goulais River and French River. The daily limit under a conservation licence remains zero.
The daily limit for bass under a conservation licence increases from two to three. The daily limit under a sport fishing licence remains unchanged.
