Revised Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan for Ontario Waters of Lake Huron

Proposal updates

The notice was updated on January 11, 2016 to advise the public that there has been no change to the status of this proposal and it is still being considered. No additional opportunity for comment is being provided for at this time. 

Some web links in this notice have been updated due to a web migration project. If you cannot access information that was previously available, you can request assistance from the contact listed in this notice. The remainder of the notice has not been altered.
 

Proposal details

Historically, lake trout were the dominant predatory fish species in Lake Huron. Through the combined effects of sea lamprey parasitism and over fishing, lake trout were largely extirpated from Lake Huron by the early 1950s. This decline in lake trout populations in Lake Huron ushered in an era of a greatly altered fish community in the lake and led to the need for major ecosystem recovery programs. Lake trout rehabilitation efforts have been ongoing since the mid-1950s focusing on the control of sea lamprey populations, rehabilitative stocking of fingerling lake trout, and controlling the harvest of developing lake trout populations. The monitoring, assessment and management of these activities has been coordinated by provincial, federal and state agencies, as well as the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has been the lead agency conducting lake trout rehabilitation efforts in the Ontario waters of Lake Huron. These efforts have been guided by the Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan For Lake Huron (Canadian jurisdiction) published in 1996 (the 1996 Plan). Along with providing direction for year to year rehabilitation activities, the 1996 Plan also committed MNR to a future review of progress and potential development of recommendations for changes to lake trout rehabilitation efforts. To meet this commitment the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit recently completed a technical report that reviewed lake trout rehabilitation efforts as well as the 1996 Plan itself. Recommendations made in this technical report have been compiled in a draft Revised Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan for Ontario Waters of Lake Huron (Revised Plan).

The draft Revised Plan outlines rehabilitation objectives, refines rehabilitation zones, proposes modified exploitation controls and stocking strategies, commits to conservation of remnant stocks, and identifies ways to evaluate progress. In addition, the draft Revised Plan takes a holistic approach to lake trout rehabilitation by highlighting ecosystem considerations and identifying new areas of research. The draft Revised Plan has undergone both an internal and external review by experts from other Great Lakes agencies and academia involved with lake trout rehabilitation efforts. Since the strategies outlined in the draft Revised Plan will potentially affect commercial and sport fisheries on Lake Huron and may also affect Aboriginal interests, an opportunity for public and Aboriginal review will be provided. This proposal notice is part of a formal public consultation plan that will provide opportunities for stakeholders to provide input and review. A questionnaire is being made available to help identify areas of concern and gauge the level of support for the draft Revised Plan.

Other information

The weblink, http://www.ontario.ca/fishing, provides additional information:

• Draft Revised Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan for Ontario Waters of Lake Huron
• Executive Summary for the Revised Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan for Ontario Waters of Lake Huron
• Revised Lake Trout Rehabilitation Plan for Ontario Waters of Lake Huron Questionnaire
• Upper Great Lakes Lake Trout State of Resource Report
• Review of Lake Trout Rehabilitation Efforts in Canadian Waters of Lake Huron, 1974 to 2006

Public consultation opportunities

In addition to this policy proposal notice, the draft Revised Plan will be made available to two Fisheries Management Zone Advisory Councils (FMZ 13 and 14), the Ontario Commercial Fisheries Association, as well as other fishing and outdoor club members, the general public, non-affiliated sport anglers and commercial fishers through mail outs. A separate consultation plan has also been developed for aboriginal communities, including First Nations and Métis, and will be conducted concurrently with the public consultation plan.