November 13, 2019 To Whom it…

November 13, 2019
To Whom it may concern,

We have read and reviewed the Ontario Sustainable Bait Management Strategy. Overall, we are pleased with the proposal. It will have less impact on the bait industry compared to the previous Strategic Bait Policy, while still working towards the common goal of stopping the spread of invasive species.
We agree that training and education is key to keeping our waterways healthy and thriving. Training for commercial operators/ harvesters is a good idea. We are just hoping that training will be readily available so that there are no time delays for adding designates and employees. Busy season is short and time is vital in the bait/tourism industry. We have noticed that there is no proposal of a need to have any training or education for personal harvesters. Personal harvesters should also be required to have some form of training or education to be able to partake in bait harvesting. As the more education, knowledge and awareness everyone has in regards to invasive species the better the chance of stopping the spread. Education and awareness is necessary for all involved. One option to integrate training education for personal harvesters is possibly having them complete a online course and having to carry a certificate noting that they have completed it.
Before any of these policies come into effect there needs to be awareness brought to the general public. Preferable over a minimum of a 2-3 year period. This will allow people to make adjustments, whether it be where they purchase their bait or how it will effect their business or travel plans. Posters/ signs at the border and in bait shops to make tourists aware is a good start. Information emailed to anglers as they purchase their fishing license is also a great way to get information to anglers. And/or information on the new rules put into the fishing regulations are all good options to bring awareness to the general public and anglers.
It is being proposed that the harvest and use of bait within native brook trout lakes no longer be allowed. Will there be a list of these lakes? Where will the list be located? What will be considered a native brook trout lake?
Another one of the proposals is documenting bait transactions between the harvesters to the point of sale. There are already log books in place to show this information. Bait dealer logs are required to be filled in upon the delivery of bait. This information includes the commercial harvesters info, the quantity, type (minnows, leeches…), date and the receiver. As a bait harvester and business owner we already have a great deal of paperwork to do in regards to tracking what bait comes in as well as where the bait goes. We can account for all of our bait movement and transactions through our existing paperwork. Example, invoices, receipts, bait logs…. Which we gladly share this information with MNR personal. We feel that it is unnecessary to create more paperwork when efficient systems are already in place.

Overall this new bait proposal is much more realistic and manageable compared to the previous bait policy that was proposed. We are just hoping that the MNR continues to approach bait harvesters for information and knowledge regarding the bait industry. We also hope that the Ministry of natural resources looks at the other avenues of how invasive species are being spread and takes action to help stop the spread through those sources. (Ex. Boats, fishing gear….)

Thank you for your time.

Murray and Sunny Gallinger
The Minnow Shed
Savant Lake, Ontario
PO Box 1283
Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B8
807-737-1421 Winter #
807-584-2957 summer #