Kawartha Lakes Fisheries

Dan Taillon – Peterborough DistrictMike Rawson – Kawartha Lakes

Fisheries Assessment Unit

Presentation Outline

• ‘State’ of the Kawartha Lakes Fishery– Index netting data– Angler creel data

• Fisheries Management in FMZ 17– Ecological Framework for Recreational

Fisheries Management– FMZ 17 Advisory Council– FMZ 17 Fisheries Management Planning

State of the Fisheries Resource

Photo: C. Giles

Lake Sampling

• Trap Netting– Passive gear– Size selective– Vulnerable– Catchability– Examples: Nearshore

Community Index Netting (NSCIN), End of Spring Trap Netting (ESTN), Spring Index Netting (SIN)

Lake Sampling

• Gill Netting– Size selectivity– Passive gear– Examples: Fall Walleye

Index Netting (FWIN), Summer Profundal Index Netting (SPIN), Broad-Scale Monitoring (BsM)

Fisheries Indicators

• Abundance– Among lake comparisons– Trend through time

• Population Structure – Size and age distribution – looking for balance

and consistency

Fish Community

0

6

12

18

24

Bio

mas

s (k

g/ne

t)

WA

L

SM

B

LMB

MS

K

RB

PS

BG BC

1960s TN1970s SIN

1980s SIN1990s SIN

2000s SIN2000s ESTN

2000s NSCIN

Rice Lake

• Decline in walleye and pumpkinseed biomass over time• Increase in biomass of bass, muskie• Emergence of new species (black crappie, bluegill)• No decrease in total biomass (kg/net)• Similar pattern across FAU lakes

0

5

10

Biom

ass

(Kg/

Net

)

WAL

SMB

LMB

MSK BC R

B PS BG1960s TN

1970s TN1980s SIN

1990s SIN2000s SIN

2000 ESTN2000 NSCIN

Balsam Lake

Walleye Abundance Through Time

• Based on trap netting data• Dramatic declines on Rice, Scugog• Balsam and Buckhorn – consistent, low abundance• Abundance highly variable within lakes

0

4

8

12

16

20

24

28

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Num

ber o

f Wal

leye

/ N

et L

ift

BALSAM BUCKHORN RICE SCUGOG

Walleye• FWIN Catch low on most lakes• Comparable to southern region averages

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Bals

am -

98

Bals

am -

01

Bals

am -

02

Bals

am -

03Ba

lsam

- 04

Bals

am -

05

Cam

eron

- 01

Stur

geon

- 01

Stur

geon

- 06

Pige

on -

00

Pige

on -

04C

hem

ung

- 00

Che

mun

g - 0

4

Buck

horn

- 00

Buck

horn

- 04

Ric

e - 9

9

Ric

e - 0

3

Ric

e - 0

6Sc

ugog

- 02

Scug

og -

06

Belm

ont -

99

Cro

we

- 99

Dal

rym

ple

- 99

Four

Mile

- 01

Sand

y - 0

1

Rel

ativ

e A

bund

ance

(G

eom

etric

Mea

n C

UE

)

FMZ 17 Average

SR Average

Relative Abundance of Species in Nearshore Community Index Netting

0

50

100

150

12 15 16 17 18

Cat

ch /

Net

-Lift

BC

BG

PS

RB

LMB

SMB

WA

Trends in the Fishery

Photo: M. Brown

Angler Effort

• A general decline in total angler effort, but still high

• ~1.25 million hours on FAU lakes/year (most recent creels)

• Dramatic decline in walleye targeted effort

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YearAn

gler

Effo

rt (R

od H

ours

per

Hec

tacr

e)

Balsam- Total Rice - Total Tri-Lakes - Total Scugog - Total

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year

Angl

er E

ffort

(Rod

Hou

rs p

er H

ecta

cre)

Balsam - Walleye Rice - Walleye Tri-Lakes - Walleye Scugog - Walleye

Targeted Species• Lake specific fisheries• ‘Anything’ becoming more common

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f Tot

al E

ffort

Walleye Largemouth bass Smallmouth bass MuskellungePanfish Yellow perch Northern Pike Anything

Tri-Lakes Creel

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005Year

Num

ber o

f Fis

h

Bass Catch Bass Harvest

Walleye Catch Walleye Harvest

Fisheries Management in the Kawartha Lakes

Photos: C. Giles

FMZ 17

• 9,360 km2

• Coldwater streams– Lake Ontario tribs– ORM flowing north

• 64 lakes larger than 5 ha – 12 > 1,000 ha– Rice Lake = 9200 ha– Total lake area ~

45,000 ha

0

400

800

1200

1600

Lake

Nipi

gon

Eagle

Lake

Lac D

es M

illes L

acs

Bobs L

ake

Whit

efish

Lake

Lake

Tamag

ami

Lac S

eul

Pigeon

Lake

Rainy L

ake

Lake

Sup

erior

Lake

Scu

gog

Lake

St. C

lair

Bay of

Quin

te

Lake

Nipi

ssing

Rice La

ke

Trent S

ystem

Lake

Sim

coe

Lake

of th

e Woo

dsLa

ke E

rie

Georgi

an Bay

Lake

Onta

rio

P, S, R

, Tren

t

Lake

Huro

n#

Day

s * 1

000

# Days Fished on Specific Lakes

Data from: 2000 Survey of Recreational Fishing in Ontario.

Pigeon Lake

Lake ScugogRice Lake

Trent System TOTAL

A new approach

• Individual lake management has increased complexity of regulations

• Broader spatial and temporal scale better approach

Research Monitoring, & Reporting

FMZ Councils & public participation

FisheriesGoals & Strategies

Actions• Regulations• Education• Rehabilitation• Protection• Stewardship• Stocking• Enforcement• Etc.

Adaptive Management

Cycle

Ecological Framework

• The EFFM consists of three components:– New regulatory framework– Increased public involvement in decision

making process– Monitoring and reporting

New Fisheries Management Zones

FMZ Advisory CouncilsRole of the Advisory Council:

– advise the MNR– work with existing stewardship groups– help with public consultation

Together: – Identify and prioritize issues– Examine of available information – Set goals and objectives– Development management strategies

FMZ 17 Advisory Council

• One of three pilot councils in Ontario• Established in 2007• Providing input and advice to aid in the

development of a Fisheries Management Strategy for the zone

FMZ 17 Advisory Council

• OFAH• Ontario BASS

Federation• Muskies Canada• Cold Creek Flyfishers• Ontario Chinese

Anglers Association• Anglers (3)

• Bait Industry• Tourism (3)• First Nations (3)• Peterborough Field

Naturalists• FOCA• Lake Association (1)• Academia• Stewardship Councils

FMZ 17 Fisheries Management Strategy

• Currently working with the FMZ 17 Advisory Council to:– Identify fisheries management objectives– Identify a suite of potential management

actions• Ecosystem approach• Targeting early 2009 for broad public

consultation– Implementation in 2010

• For each Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ) – Describe the current and

changing state of the resource

– Describe the current and changing pressures on the resource

– Produce a periodic report on state of the resource

Broad Scale Monitoring of Inland Lakes

“What” we measure

AbundanceSizeAgeMaturationContaminantsDisease

State Indicators Pressure Indicators

“Fishery”

species

BathymetryTemperatureOxygenWater clarityWater

chemistry

Habitat

Fish speciesZooplanktonBenthos

Community

Angling effort

Exploitation

Aerial effortsurvey

Spring water sampling

Proposed Netting Method• Summer sampling • Two types of gillnets

– Large mesh (North American standard)

– Small mesh (Ontario standard)

• Stratified random sampling– Stratify by depth– Random sites within depth

strata• Overnight sets (18+ hour)

Research Monitoring, & Reporting

FMZ Councils & public participation

FisheriesGoals & Strategies

Actions• Regulations• Education• Rehabilitation• Protection• Stewardship• Stocking• Enforcement• Etc.

Adaptive Management

Cycle