I am largely supportive of…

I am largely supportive of the proposed changes, with two exceptions:

1)- Use of Live Bait in Provincial Parks- this doesn't strike me as particularly effective or useful. For some parks, such as Algonquin, Killarney, or other world-class fisheries where the boundary of the provincial park encompasses the entire waterbody, the prohibition of live baitfish may be effective. In many provincial parks, the waterbody that would have most of the fishing pressure would not be exclusively within the Provincial park- would private cottages, or fishermen or boaters who launch onto the waterbody from outside of the park would be able to use live bait? This undermines the whole premise of the strategy, and just adds additional burden on users who are within provincial parks who would have to comply rather than those who enter on private land. Example- Six Mile Lake, Bonnechere Provincial Park, Balsam Lake, etc. Also, leeches are often naturally occuring-are they threatened? Is there a reason to restrict their use, other than to make the live bait ban simpler?

2)- The strategy seems overly regulated and restrictive for southern ontario- i.e. self harvesting. If I self-harvest minnows from a tributary to Lake Erie (Big Otter Creek or Big Creek) it seems ridiculous that I cannot transport them overland to use in Lake Erie, less than 20 mins away.

[Original Comment ID: 209522]