Chinook Salmon Stocking on Lake Ontario
Discussing what goes into creating sustainable salmon fishing on Lake Ontario.
Lake Ontario Salmon Fishing
Lake Ontario is home to the best salmon fishing in North America despite the reputation of Canada’s West Coast fishery being superior.
While the great lakes don’t offer whale, seal, or sea lion sightings, they do offer incredible fishing for Chinook salmon from April through September, with 40 fish catches not uncommon during peak periods in April to July.
These numbers, as well as the chance for a 30lb “Tyee” salmon make fishing on Lake Ontario a popular adventure for diehards and beginners alike, who enjoy the thrill of a screaming drag and chase of the mighty King salmon.
A brief historical review of this species in the Great Lakes region reveals that these fish were stocked both for our enjoyment, and as a bio-control back in the 1960’s, when alewife (an invasive species) could be found rotting on many of the lakes’ beaches in the spring and summer.
These unsightly events, and the Chinook’s reputation as a sportfish, birthed stocking initiatives that started the fishery we enjoy sharing today.
Angler holds up a big Lake Ontario Salmon. A fish we dream about catching!
Natural Reproduction of Salmon in Lake Ontario
It is still widely debated at what rate Chinook successfully reproduce in Lake Ontario, and consequently how many fish that we catch are these “wild” fish.
Despite having hundreds of kilometres of rivers and streams where Chinook run every fall to spawn, most of these environments have been deemed unsuitable for fish to be successful in their efforts. For this reason, governments and community groups heavily stock the lake with fingerlings every spring to make sure anglers have plenty of fish to catch when they grow up.
On Lake Ontario this management is a bi-national effort coordinated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
Chinook salmon typically live only 3 to 4 years and grow fast during that time, averaging 15 to 20 pounds as adults in their final year before running up stream to spawn.
On Lake Ontario, the primary naturally reproducing areas are the Ganaraska River and Credit River, although there are more streams and rivers which contribute to this. Access to a fishway on the Credit River is a highly politicised and controversial topic.
In the Niagara and Burlington portion of Lake Ontario, there are limited opportunities for salmon to successfully spawn and for this reason, these areas receive the heaviest relative amount of stocking on the Canadian side.
The reason for this high amount of supplemental stocking is to support both the lake fishery when fish are in open water, and a fall fishery, when fish return home to run up their natal stream.
The evidence of “imprinting” is highly contended amongst members in the fishing community, but it is generally believed that Lake Ontario salmon return to the area that they were first born in, thanks to the unique signature of smells and contents of their natal river’s water.
Port Dalhousie Salmon Pen Stocking Program
For the past 5 years I have had the pleasure of leading our pen stocking program at Port Dalhousie with a volunteer team from the St. Catharines Game and Fish Association.
Every spring, we receive 50 to 60 thousand salmon fry from the Normandale fish hatchery, which are administered from the Lake Ontario Management Unit (MNR). Upon receiving the fish, they are quickly bucketed into large net-pens located in the Dalhousie harbour, where they will stay and grow for 4 to 6 weeks.
During this time, volunteers fill automatic fish feeders which trickle food pellets into the water, where hungry salmon are waiting. These volunteers also clean the net pens with a pool brush to ensure the water quality remains high for the fish.
Water monitoring probes and wireless reporting is made possible for the project thanks to SYNCHRO Engineering, who have helped the club purchase and maintain the equipment from year to year.
Stocking Salmon to Lake Ontario
After the salmon fingerlings have spent their time in the pens and becoming imprinted to the harbour water, they are released at sunset to avoid being eaten by birds.
Fingerlings can be seen in and around the harbour for months after their release as the fish continue to eat insects, algae and small fish on their way to becoming adults.
Once they reach a certain size, there is not much that can take down a chinook salmon as they are too fast and strong to be eaten by another Lake Ontario predator fish. The critical period of raising fish from egg to fry is completed by hard-working hatchery staff, and the extra growing and imprinting done by community groups like the Game and Fish.
Every year, participation in the project becomes more popular as people discover these amazing fish and the Lake Ontario salmon fishery.
Who knows, maybe that fish you catch on the lake this summer is one that my group and I helped put in the lake!
If becoming part of the project sounds interesting, I encourage you to come to our Annual General Meeting for the St. Catharines Game and Fish Association and sign up to help out. We are always looking to get more people involved in the project!