New Proposal to Protect Ontario’s Waters and Fisheries

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Province releases draft bait management strategy

“Our government is committed to protecting Ontario’s vibrant fisheries and the industries that rely on them by reducing the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species and fish diseases,” Minister Yakabuski said. “We are aiming for a policy that protects our lakes and rivers while minimizing the impact on anglers and increasing business certainty for the commercial industry that relies on bait.” Read more

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

A modernized Fisheries Act for Canada

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On June 21, 2019 Canada modernized the Fisheries Act.

On August 28th, 2019 provisions of the new Fisheries Act came into force including new protections for fish and fish habitat in the form of standards, codes of practice, and guidelines for projects near water.

Changes to the Fisheries Act will help:

  • restore protections for fish and fish habitat
  • enhance marine protection and habitat restoration
  • improve management of projects
  • preserve independent inshore fisheries
  • strengthen Indigenous role in project reviews, monitoring and policy development

See Introducing Canada’s modernized Fisheries Act for additional information.

TRCA Technical Training

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Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) provides Ontario Stream Assessment Protocol (OSAP) courses and other technical training opportunities to help transfer knowledge to partners and peers, and to help improve the accuracy and standardization of ecological data collected in regional watersheds. See current Technical Training opportunities.

Volume XVIII, Issue I – The Lateral Line

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HIGHLIGHTS:

President’s Message – Jan Moryk
2019 AFS-OC AGM
Student Subunit Update
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish – Will Jarvis
Ontario’s silver Lake Trout – Chris Wilson
Fish Focus – Brook Silverside
ROM Tour
Electrofishing and Breathable Waders – Patrick Cooney
Book Review – Immersion: The Science and Mystery of Freshwater Mussels
2019 AFS-OC AGM Sponsors

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App – EDDMapS Ontario

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The EDDMapS Ontario app brings the power of EDDMapS to your smartphone. Now you can submit invasive species observations directly with your smartphone from the field. These reports are uploaded to EDDMapS and e-mailed directly to verifiers for review.

Compatible with iOS devices, the EDDMApS Ontario App is free to download from the App Store.

Compatible with Android devices, the EDDMApS Ontario App is free to download from the Google Play Store.

Tench captured in Bay of Quinte

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Tench (tinca tinca) are native to Europe and western Asia, and were introduced to North America in the late 19th century for use as a food and sport fish.

In eastern Canada, Tench were illegally imported from Germany to a Quebec fish farm in the late 1980s and had escaped into the Richelieu River by the early 1990s, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. In 2016, Tench first appeared in Ontario waters of Lake St. Francis near Cornwall, downstream of the Moses-Saunders Dam, a barrier to natural upstream dispersal.

In the October of 2018, a commercial fisherman captured a Tench in the Bay of Quinte near the Belleville water treatment plant. The fish measured 46.5 cm TL and weighed 1.39 kg. It is possible that the fish was introduced via “bait bucket transfer” as juveniles could easily be mistaken as species of baitfish.

View the Tench distribution at EDDMapS.

Baitfish Primer

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The Baitfish Primer, one of DFO’s most popular publications, is now available as a mobile app! Compatible with iOS or Android devices, the Baitfish Primer App is free to download from Google Play or the App Store. The new app allows biologists, hobbyists and anglers to easily identify which baitfishes are legal to use in Ontario’s waters. Ensuring live bait is neither an invasive species that could damage the ecosystem, nor a species at risk, is a critical element in protecting the Great Lakes and all Ontario waterways. Read more

The Baitfish Primer: A Guide to Identifying and Protecting Ontario’s Baitfishes (2018 Revision)

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The Baitfish Primer (2018 revision) was authored by by Becky Cudmore and Nicholas E. Mandrak and jointly produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Bait Association of Ontario and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

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Muskellunge Management: Fifty Years of Cooperation Among Anglers, Scientists, and Fisheries Biologists

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This book represents the state-of-the-art in our understanding of Muskellunge biology, ecology, and management, and is a must-read for anyone studying or managing this iconic species. Readers will benefit from the latest information on a novel, non-lethal method for sampling contaminants in Muskellunge, how angler-scientist partnerships have enhanced management actions, how genetic tools have improved our understanding of this species, and population-level responses to management actions and outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia.

Read more

Volume XVII, Issue I – The Lateral Line

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HIGHLIGHTS:

President’s Message – William Glass
2018 AFS-OC AGM – February 22-24, Geneva Park, Orillia
Fish Focus – Sand Shiner
Student Subunit Update
Ontario’s Adfluvial Smallmouth Bass – Nick Jones and Brian Morrison
2017 AFS-OC AGM Sponsors
NWO-AFS Chapter Flashback

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