SANDFIELD—The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF) is willing to meet with a bait fishing business owner in Sandfield on concerns Peter Hutchinson raised on how the dam is operated and with fisheries management in Lake Manitou.
“Just try to get information from the ministry on the amount of lake trout eggs they take in the fall or how many they take in the spring,” said Peter Hutchinson, at the Lake Manitou Area Association (LMAA) annual general meeting held earlier this month. “I know they have been taking walleye spawn out of the lake for the past 20 years, approximately 3-5 million eggs a year. And they have not been putting any pickerel back in.” He said the MNRF deems walleye not native to the lake but said that historically they are. And he said fish being taken out are going to Lake Kagawong and other areas in Northern Ontario.
“The fish don’t belong to the MNRF but the province. They owe us an update every year on what they are doing with the dam and the fishery. They need to be available to be asked some questions. We need to request they come to the table so we can ask these questions.”
“It’s the same with walleye. For 20 years they have been taking spawn out of the lake, and not one has been put back in the water,” said Mr. Hutchinson.
Mr. Hutchinson explained, “I run a bait shop on the lake, and I deal with the ministry through a minnow license I have. I pay $400 per year for my licence. During the first week of June they dropped the water at the dam, without any notification. They put in four logs which dropped the water level on the lake by 16 inches. Because of this I lost three dozen (three boxes) of minnows to sell to my customers. I talked to one of their employees who had been involved in this and I told them what had just happened. He told me ‘We are sorry. We should have called you.’ They have told me in the past that they would call when they were going to carry out this type of work. I told them in the future I would appreciate a call when they are coming over from Sudbury.”
Mr. Hutchinson also said, “I know about 10-12 years ago the ministry took hundreds of adult perch and put them in tanks to transport to Lake Kagawong. It was over 100 adult walleye. But before they got to Kagawong all the fish died in the tanks. What else are they doing that we don’t know about?”
William Foy, regional outreach specialist with the MNRF in reply to Mr. Hutchinson’s concerns told The Expositor in an email, “The MNRF manages fish and wildlife in Ontario, ensuring sustainable populations in sampled lakes through monitoring and research programs and the best available science.”
“The ministry collects 500,000 to 800,000 lake trout eggs annually from Lake Manitou and has gathered 2 to 7 million walleye eggs annually since 2005. Each mature female walleye produces over 300,000 eggs, reared at the Blue Jay Creek Fish Culture Station. Many hatchlings are used to support additional angling opportunities in other lakes across the Northeast region,” said Mr. Foy.
Mr. Foy explained, “we are not aware of any transfer of adult perch from Lake Manitou to Lake Kagawong and the Sudbury district is currently reviewing the potential stocking of walleye into Lake Manitou.”
“Regarding dam management, the ministry follows established operational guideline and has maintained lake levels within these standards throughout the 2024 season,” wrote Mr. Foy. “The MNR is willing to meet with a committee formed by the Lake Manitou Area Association to discuss its work on the lake and has already committed to meeting with members of the association this summer.”
