Kawartha Lakes Fisheries

Dan Taillon – Peterborough District Mike 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

Balsam Lake Rice Lake

1960s TN 1970s TN 1960s TN 1980s SIN 1970s SIN 10 24 1990s SIN 1980s SIN 2000s SIN 18 1990s SIN 5 2000 ESTN 12 2000s SIN

(kg/net) 2000s ESTN (Kg/Net) Biomass 2000 NSCIN

Biomass Biomass 6 0 2000s NSCIN PS

BC RB 0 BG LMB SMB MSK WAL PS RB BG BC LMB WAL SMB MSK

• 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 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 28

24

20

16

12

8

4 Number of Walleye / Net Lift

0 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

BALSAM BUCKHORN RICE SCUGOG Walleye • FWIN Catch low on most lakes • Comparable to southern region averages

30 FMZ 17 Average 25 SR Average

20

15

10

Relative Abundance Abundance Relative 5 (Geometric Mean CUE) Mean (Geometric 0 Rice -Rice 99 -Rice 03 -Rice 06 Sandy - 01 Pigeon - 00 Pigeon - 04 Pigeon Crowe - 99 Balsam - 98 Balsam - 01 Balsam - 02 Balsam - 03 Balsam - 04 Balsam - 05 Scugog - 02 Scugog - 06 Belmont -Belmont 99 Four Mile - 01 Mile Four Cameron - 01 Cameron Sturgeon - 01 Sturgeon - 06 Chemung - 00 Chemung - 04 Buckhorn - 00 Buckhorn - 04 Dalrymple - 99 Relative Abundance of Species in Nearshore Community Index Netting

150

BC

BG 100 PS

RB

LMB

Catch / Net-Lift 50 SMB

WA

0 12 15 16 17 18 Trends in the Fishery

Photo: M. Brown Angler Effort Balsam- Total Rice - Total Tri-Lakes - Total Scugog - Total

70

60 • A general decline 50 40

in total angler 30 effort, but still high 20 • ~1.25 million Hectacre) per Hours (Rod Effort Angler 10 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 hours on FAU Year Balsam - Walleye Ric e - Walleye Tri-Lakes - Walleye Scugog - Walleye lakes/year (most 40 recent creels) 35 30 • Dramatic decline 25 in walleye targeted 20 15 effort 10

Angler Effort(Rod Angler Hours per Hectacre) 5

0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Year Targeted Species • Lake specific fisheries • ‘Anything’ becoming more common Walleye Largemouth bass Smallmouth bass Muskellunge Panfish Yellow perch Northern Pike Anything 100

80

60

40 % Effort Total of 20

0 Tri-Lakes Creel

160,000 Bass Catch Bass Harvest 140,000 Walleye Catch Walleye Harvest 120,000

100,000

80,000

60,000 Number of Fish of Number

40,000

20,000

0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 Year 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 # Days Fished on Specific Lakes 1600 TOTAL Trent System

1200 Rice Lake Lake Scugog

800 Pigeon Lake # Days * 1000 # Days

400

0 y n e rio o k ake a rent Seul L T le Lake s Lake y Lake an Ba g b n i Lac of Quinte Bo Rai y Rice Lake Erie Ea itefish La he Woods Lake Hur Pigeon Lake Lake ScugogBa Trent SystemLake Simcoe t Lake OntP, S, R, Lake Nipigon Lake SuperiorLake St. Clair Georg Wh Lake Nipissing Lake Tamagami Lake of Lac Des Milles LacsData from: 2000 Survey of Recreational Fishing in Ontario. A new approach

• Individual lake management has increased complexity of regulations • Broader spatial and temporal scale better approach Fisheries Actions Goals & • Regulations Strategies • Education • Rehabilitation FMZ • Protection Councils & • Stewardship public Adaptive • Stocking participation Management • Enforcement Cycle • Etc.

Research Monitoring, & Reporting 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 Councils

Role 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 • Bait Industry • Ontario BASS • Tourism (3) Federation • First Nations (3) • Muskies Canada • Peterborough Field Naturalists • Cold Creek Flyfishers • FOCA • Ontario Chinese • Lake Association (1) Anglers Association • Academia • Anglers (3) • 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 Broad Scale Monitoring of Inland Lakes

• 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 “What” we measure State Indicators Pressure Indicators

“Fishery” species Habitat Community Exploitation Abundance Bathymetry Fish species Angling effort Size Temperature Zooplankton Age Oxygen Benthos Maturation Water clarity Contaminants Water Disease chemistry

Spring water Aerial effort sampling survey 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) Fisheries Actions Goals & • Regulations Strategies • Education • Rehabilitation FMZ • Protection Councils & • Stewardship public Adaptive • Stocking participation Management • Enforcement Cycle • Etc.

Research Monitoring, & Reporting