Rainbow Trout Stocking in Inland Lakes and Streams: an Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review
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Rainbow Trout Stocking In Inland Lakes and Streams: An Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review S. J. Kerr and T. A. Lasenby Fisheries Section Fish and Wildlife Branch Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources August 2000 This publication should be cited as follows: Kerr, S. J. and T. A. Lasenby. 2000. Rainbow trout stocking in inland lakes and streams: An annotated bibliography and literature review. Fish and Wildlife Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. 220 p. + appendices Printed in Ontario, Canada (0.3 k P. R. 00 28 09) MNR 51436 ISBN 0-7794-0194-8 Copies of this publication are available from: Fish and Wildlife Branch Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources P. O. Box 7000 300 Water Street Peterborough, Ontario. K9J 8M5 Cette publication spécialisée n’est disponible qu’en anglais Cover drawing by Ruth E. Grant, Brockville, Ontario. Preface This bibliography and literature review is the third in a set of reference documents developed in conjunction with a review of fish stocking policies and guidelines in the Province of Ontario. It has been prepared to summarize information pertaining to the current stage of knowledge regarding rainbow trout stocking into inland waters in a form which can readily be utilized by field staff and stocking proponents. Material cited in this bibliography includes papers published in scientific journals, magazines and periodicals as well as “gray” literature such as file reports from Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) field offices. Unpublished literature was obtained by soliciting information (i.e., unpublished data and file reports) from field biologists throughout Ontario. Most published information was obtained from a literature search at the MNR corporate library in Peterborough. Twenty-one major fisheries journals were reviewed as part of this exercise. These included Aquaculture (1972-1998), California Fish and Game (1917-1999), Copeia (1913-1999), Environmental Biology of Fishes (1976-1999), Fishery Bulletin (1963-1999), Fisheries Management (1975-1984), Journal of Freshwater Ecology (1981-1999), New York Fish and Game Journal (1954-1985), North American Journal of Fisheries Management (1981-1999), Journal of the Fisheries Reseach Board of Canada/Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (1950-1999), Progressive Fish Culturist (1940-1999) and the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (1929-1999). Searches were also made of other publications including Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Transactions of the Annual North American Fish and Wildlife Conference, Transactions of the Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, United States Department of the Interior Fisheries Technical Papers, FAO Fisheries Technical Papers and Circulars, and reports published under the Canadian Technical Report Series of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Some material was obtained by a search on the Fish and Fisheries Worldwide database (1971- present) via the Internet. Information from over 540 sources has been assembled. Abstracts from published papers have been included wherever possible. In cases where abstracts were not available, an attempt has been made to extract pertinent material from the document to provide a synopsis of the findings. In some cases, we were unable to obtain a copy of the document but have simply included the citation. (i) Table of Contents Preface ……………………………….…………………………………………………………………….. i Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………….. ii History of Rainbow Trout Stocking in Ontario Inland Waters…………………………………………….. 1 Synthesis of Selected Literature …………………………………………………………………………… 3 Annotated Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………….. 21 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………………... 209 Subject Key ………………………………………………………………………………………..…… 211 Subject Index ………………………………………………………………………………………..…. 213 Appendix 1. Rainbow trout and Kamloops trout stocking in inland lakes and streams of Ontario from provincial fish culture stations, 1900-1999. Appendix 2. Contribution of stocked rainbow trout to the recreational fisheries of various North American waterbodies. (ii) History of Rainbow Trout Stocking in Ontario Inland Waters History of Rainbow Trout Stocking in Ontario Inland Waters Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are considered a naturalized species in Ontario waters. Their native range consisted of the eastern Pacific Ocean and the coastal drainage of western North America from Mexico to Alaska (MacCrimmon 1971). Although exact dates may be questionable, the earliest introductions of rainbow trout involved the Great Lakes and tributary streams. In the Lake Ontario watershed, the first plants were in New York state in 1878. By 1884 rainbow trout had moved to the Ontario side of the lake. The first Canadian plantings of rainbow trout are believed to have occurred in the late 1920s and early 1930s in Bronte Creek and the Humber River. In the Ontario waters of the Lake Erie watershed, the first plantings of rainbow trout fry (3,000) were made in 1882 with stock from the Northville Hatchery, Michigan, being planted in a small Lake St. Clair tributary (MacCrimmon 1971). There is some confusion about rainbow trout introductions to the Lake Superior watershed. MacCrimmon (1971) reported that the Ontario government planted rainbow trout near Sault Ste. Marie in 1883. Conversely, Lawrie and Rahrer (1973) state that rainbow trout were first stocked as eyed eggs in 1895 by the U.S. Fish Commission and that spawning populations had developed on both sides of the lake within 10 years. Spawning populations of rainbow trout in Lake Huron, believed to have spread downstream from Lake Superior, had developed by 1930. One of the earliest records of rainbow trout stocking in inland waters of Ontario was in 1918 when 20,000 fish were released in Brough’s Creek, a Lake Simcoe tributary, and in Lake Simcoe at the narrows near Atherley, Simcoe County. In 1922, small plantings of rainbow trout had been made in Eagle Lake, Frontenac County (1,000 fish); Glecian River, Grey County (1,000 fish); Trout Lake, Parry Sound District (1,000 fish); Sturgeon Lake, Victoria County (1,000 fish); and Riverdale Park in Toronto (250 fish). Twelve hundred (1,200) rainbow trout and 5,300 steelhead were also stocked in Lake Simcoe. In 1924, 10,000 rainbow trout were stocked in the Wahnapitae River near Sudbury and 5,000 were released in Lac des Milles Lacs near Thunder Bay. Despite some of these early plantings there was apparently little interest in rainbow trout stocking. For example, of 1,268 applications for hatchery-reared fish in 1929, only 20 applicants requested rainbow trout. Seven of these waters were stocked in 1929. A more active rainbow trout stocking program in Ontario commenced in the mid-late 1930s. The first stocking of Kamloops, a lake resident form of rainbow trout, was recorded in 1938 when a total of 25,800 fish were stocked in Waseosa Lake (Muskoka District), Bernard and Poole lakes (Parry Sound District), and Lake Temagami (Nipissing District). In the 1940s, Kamloops were reared at both the Normandale and Chatsworth provincial fish culture stations. By 1967 various life stages of rainbow trout were reared and distributed from eleven different provincial fish culture stations. MacCrimmon et al. (1974) reported that at least 14 government and affiliated hatcheries in Ontario were rearing rainbow trout prior to 1973. 1 History of Rainbow Trout Stocking in Ontario Inland Waters In 1999 404,792 rainbow trout were stocked in Ontario waters. Of this total, 155,654 trout (38.5%) were stocked in the Great Lakes while 249,138 fish (61.5%) were released in inland waters of the province (see Table 1). Table 1. Rainbow trout stocking in Ontario inland waters in 1999. Region MNR District Number of fish stocked Southcentral Aylmer 1,054 Bancroft 29,350 Kemptville 16,500 Midhurst 7,505 Pembroke 38,100 Peterborough 10,000 Subtotal 102,509 Northeastern Chapleau 4,000 Cochrane 10,000 Hearst 8,000 Kirkland Lake 16,500 North Bay 49,618 Sault Ste. Marie 12,300 Sudbury 5,500 Timmins 14,000 Wawa 7,253 Subtotal 127,321 Northwestern Nipigon 19,308 Total 249,138 Rainbow trout are stocked in most portions of the province with the exception of northwestern Ontario. They are commonly used to diversify local angling opportunities and provide artificial (i.e., put-and-take) fisheries. The vast majority of rainbow trout stocking occurs in lakes and ponds. Rainbow trout are also the most popular species stocked by landowners in private ponds. 2 Synthesis of Selected Literature Synthesis of Selected Literature This section is intended to provide a summary and overview of rainbow trout stocking information which has been assembled. This information has been summarized under the following categories: 1. Factors influencing stocking success 2. Survival and contribution of stocked rainbow trout to the fishery 3. Potential impacts of rainbow trout stocking activities 4. Stocking assessment 5. Best management practices for stocking rainbow trout in inland waters. Factors Influencing Stocking Success There are a great number of factors which can influence the success of a rainbow trout stocking project (Table 2). Many of these factors are common to other stocked salmonids. Table 2. A summary of potential factors which can influence the success of a rainbow trout stocking project in an inland waterbody. Factor Reference(s)