Ontario Steelheaders

Our annual 2015 newsletter has been released. Print copies can be found in local tackle shops and circulating the Dennys Dam Park on the Saugeen River. Alternatively, you can download our digital, interactive version here:

Download Ontario Steelheaders 2015 Newsletter [8.2MB PDF]

Dr. Jim Hamilton, his wife and fellow professor Katherine, and 8 students (2 graduate, 6 undergraduate) from Wilfrid Laurier University conducted invertebrate studies in the upper and cedar rapids, in Spring Creek on September 27, which will serve as a baseline for measuring the oxygenation impact resulting from the oxygen generator project currently underway at Spring Creek.

Oxygen will be provided to 3 major springs as required, in late summer/early fall, to maintain an optimum dissolved oxygen level in the upper portion of of Spring Creek.

Best regards,

Bill Nafziger
Hepworth Anglers Club

Watch this cool video as steelhead trout hatch and emerge from eggs. Its great to see the beauty in nature at work.

Video filmed by Florian Graner of Sealife Productions.

Three Asian Grass Carp have been found in the waters around the Toronto Islands marina. In the evening hours of Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA) staff caught two Asian Grass Carp while monitoring fish species in the area. The third was found late in the day on Wednesday, Sept. 2 in the same vicinity.

The Grass Carp were immediately sent to a Fisheries and Oceans Canada laboratory in Burlington for further investigation. The first fish found was 23 pounds, the second weighed 36 pounds and the third was 20 pounds.

As of Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, crews in electro fishing and trap net boats from TRCA, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry have been conducting coordinated searches for Asian Grass Carp.

Grass Carp is one of several species in a group of fish known as Asian Carp. They are native to Eastern Asia and have been used in North America, primarily as a food source and also as a means for managing aquatic vegetation. Where they have proliferated in parts of the United States, Grass Carp have had a negative effect on the ecosystem, as well as on the commercial and recreation- al fishery. Grass Carp feed extensively on aquatic vegetation, often uprooting large areas of vegetation, thus depleting other native fish species. Grass Carp differ from the Common Carp found in Lake Ontario which were introduced to Ontario in the 1800’s.

This summer, five live Grass Carp have been found on Toronto’s waterfront. In addition to this week’s findings, two were discovered in July in Tommy Thompson Park. While the discovery of this invasive species in Lake Ontario warrants further monitoring and analysis, circumstances lead- ing to its presence are still unclear. At present, not enough is known to draw conclusions about its source or potential ecological impact.

In recent decades, TRCA has worked to monitor and restore fish habitats along Toronto’s waterfront and the watersheds that feed into it, restoring significant populations of native fish species that were decimated as Toronto grew. With the expansion of wetlands, improvements to shorelines, including the installation of fish habitats along the waterfront, pike, walleye and bass populations have flourished.

TRCA continues to work in the field and on the water in cooperation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and other agencies engaged in the protection of the Toronto region waterways from damaging invasive species.

Article Source: http://www.trca.on.ca/news-media/news/releases/211346#sthash.pW17ixhH.dpuf

A member of the Lake Huron Fishing Club, Laverne Blacklock passed away this morning.

If you knew this genuine man, you know how much he will be missed. If you did not know Laverne, you probably have fished next to or spoke about the weather with at one time or another as he was always about checking conditions engaging in friendly conversation.

He was a sole part of crew with Grant McAlpine at the Dennys Dam Fish Lift program and his efforts will never be forgotten. Laverne was an avid wood carver, custom rod builder and passionate fisherman and will be severely missed by many on and around the Saugeen River and local area. The winter months will feel empty with out him for a while as he was one of the few locals picking fish off in muddy waters.

Rest In Peace Laverne

Ontario Steelheaders & Members

Genetic research is showing that healthy steelhead runs in Pacific Northwest streams can depend heavily on the productivity of their stay-at- home counterparts, rainbow trout.

Steelhead and rainbow trout look different, grow differently, and one heads off to sea while the other never leaves home. But the life histories and reproductive health of wild trout and steelhead are tightly linked and interdependent, more so than has been appreciated, a new Oregon State University study concludes.

The research could raise new challenges for fishery managers to pay equally close attention to the health, stability and habitat of wild rain- bow trout, the researchers say, because healthy steelhead populations may require healthy trout populations.

In a field study in Hood River, Ore., researchers used DNA analysis to determine that up to 40 percent of the genes in returning steelhead came from wild rainbow trout, rather than other steelhead. And only 1 percent of the genes came from “residualized” hatchery fish – fish that had stayed in the stream and mated, but not gone to sea as intended by the hatchery program.

“It used to be thought that coastal rainbow trout and steelhead were actually two different fish species, but we’ve known for some time that isn’t true,” said Mark Christie, an OSU postdoctoral research associate and expert in fish genetic analysis. “What’s remarkable about these findings is not just that these are the same fish species, but the extent to which they interbreed, and how important wild trout are to the health of steelhead populations.”

This research, just published in the journal Molecular Ecology, was based on a 15-year analysis of 12,725 steelhead from Oregon’s Hood River, each of which was sampled to determine its genetic background and parentage. It was supported by funding from the Bonneville Power Administration. The study reveals a complex picture of wild trout and steelhead intermingling as they reproduce. A steelhead might be produced by the spawning of two steelhead, two wild trout, or a returning steelhead and a trout.

Rainbow trout are small to moderate-sized fish in most rivers, but if that same fish migrates to the ocean it can return as a huge steelhead weighing 30 pounds or more, prized for sport fishing. Researchers still don’t know exactly why some trout choose to go to the ocean and others don’t, although they believe at least some part of the equation is genetic.

Studies of rainbow trout and steelhead have been undertaken, in part, to better understand the implications of hatcheries. Including all salmonid species, more than one billion hatchery salmon are released into Pacific Northwest streams each year. And because hatcheries produce fish that are less able to survive and successfully reproduce in the wild, there is concern about hatchery fish mating with wild fish.

“One implication of this study is that the genetic contribution by wild trout is diluting the input of genes from hatchery fish to the wild steelhead population,” said Michael Blouin, an OSU professor of zoology and co-author on this study.

“The genetic influences of hatchery fish on wild steelhead populations are still a concern,” Blouin said. “But the good news from the Hood River is that the hatchery genes are being diluted more than we thought, and thus may not be having as much impact on dragging down the fitness of the wild steelhead.”

The genetic influence of wild rainbow trout, the scientists said, is roughly cutting in half the genetic input of hatchery fish that reproduce in the wild – a mitigation of their impact that’s of some importance.

The scientists cautioned that results from one river might not be representative of all steelhead populations. Nevertheless, Christie said, “The importance of trout in maintaining steelhead runs should not be underestimated.

Worth noting, the researchers said, is that most other salmonids, such as coho or chinook salmon, do not have this type of fall-back system to help produce fish with a higher capability of surviving. As such, they may be more vulnerable than steelhead to the concerns about genetic weaknesses produced by hatchery fish.

Source Article: http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/jan/wild-rainbow-trout-critical-health-steelhead-populations

In late 2014, The SVCA was approved for funding up to $125,000 to support its project that involves the removal of the Lockerby Dam, which is locat- ed in the Municipality of Arran Elderslie between Chesley and Paisley. Additionally, Bruce Power aided with support for the dam removal.

The removal of the dam was considered by SVCA for a number of years since a report was completed in 2006 that recommended the removal of the dam and the rehabilitation of the reservoir.

The removal of the aging concrete dam, a current barrier for upstream fish migration, improves the fish habitat both upstream and downstream with key improvements to water quality in the North Saugeen River.

On August 21, 2015 the Lockerby Dam was removed and a natural, unobtrusive, natural waterway was left in place.

One down, many more to go!