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. -~ J WE CR De - iy 135 mr Lm A iC AR SN Nw ee) ra . ~ - ce aR: or AN nl CN » RIOR HH Ae PE CI v, ASA GCE > A 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, July 9, 1980 Looking for signs of over exploitation Scugog fish are being netted and tagged Sport fishing for pickerel, bass and muskie is an important industry to the Kawartha Region and other areas of southern and Eastern Ontario. With gasoline prices going up all the time, more and more anglers from the heavily populated areas are turning to the Kawarthas for winter and summer fishing recreation. Helping to ensure that fish - populations in four of the Kawartha Lakes are not being adversely affected by the ever increasing number of anglers, the Ministry of Natural Resources Fish Assessment Unit is working this month on Lake Scugog netting, tagging and collect- ing data on all species of fish in these waters. Fisheries biologist Cheryl Lewis, who works out of the Natural Resources district office in Lindsay says the purpose of the Assessment Unit is to 'look for signs of over-exploitation."' We want to determine if the fish populations are hold- ing up under the angling pressures,' she says. The netting and tagging operations on Lake Scugog started June 15 and will continue until the end of this month. Earlier this summer similar operations were carried out on Balsam Lake. A team of three fisheries technicians conducts the actuai netting and tagging in nine different locations so far on Scugog. The nets, ranging in size from four to eight feet are set about 100 feet off shore with long leads going into the shore line. The fish, which move along the shore line bump into the nylon leads. They swim away from shore to try to get around the leads and wind up in the net. Every day, the technicians haul the nets into the boat, then clip a portion of a fin from each fish, weigh them, measure their length, clip a small yellow tag just behind the dorsal fin. and then take a scale sainple which when examined under a micro- scope can determine almost exactly the age of the fish. It is a tedious operation and sometimes there have Technician Larry Little clips tag just behind the dorsal fin. Iu al 3 been as many as 300 species caught overnight in one net. Once the number of fish in the net begins to decline, the nets are moved to another location. The tops of the nets are just a few inches below the surface of the water. Al- though the net is well mark- ed with bright orange flags and flashing light at night, some have been damaged when hit by boaters. There have also been a few cases of the nets being raided. Although the tagging and the collecting of data will take about six weeks on Lake Scugog, Ms. Lewis says it will probably be next spring before the information is analysed and more import- antly, compared to the data gathered in a similar netting operation carried out on Scugog two years ago. "We try to determine if there are any trends in the fish population, such as an increase or decrease in numbers, or the size fish are when they are reach breed- ing age." Male pickerel reach maturity at about three years, while females take about a year longer. They are about 1.5 to two pounds. Although it will be several months before the depart- ment reaches any conclu- sions about the fish popu- lations in Scugog, Ms. Lewis says that the yellow appears to be flourishing. So far, this year, the unit has netted about 1000 pick- erel, while two years ago, about 700 were netted during the whole operation. While the numbers may be strong, there does not appear to be as many large pickerel in the 10 to 14 pound range. The precise reasons for this are not known. Also in an effort to keep tabs on the fish population, a creel census crew is working on Scugog this summer, talk- ing to anglers and taking information about their catches. It will be four years before the census crew is back on Lake Scugog. Although few muskie turn up in the nets, interviews with fishermen indicate that the numbers are good so far this season. The muskie population Unit. netting operation on Lake Scugog last Friday - > , oF a wo Technicians haul net aboard the flat-decked boat used by the Assessment Technician Mark Riemenschnieder hefts a good-sized pickerel caught in the morning. " A ' All the fish are weighed and measured. appears to be healthy in Scugog and according to Ms. Lewis one of the reasons may be the spawning grounds in the Osler Marsh on the south side of Highway 7A. The marsh has not been upset environmentally, and the fact that it is private property with a gamekeeper helps to ensure that the species is not disturbed during spawning, Pickerel appear to be spawning on gravel shoals at several different locations in the lake. In an effort to collect more information about the spawning habits and locations of the pickerel, the Ministry of Natural Resources has now an on- going project to track about 20 fish which had tiny radio transmitters inserted in their stomachs. The yellow pickerel is by far the most populous of the game fish in Lake Scugog. However, it is not a native species to this lake. Records indicate that the first pickerel were stocked in this lake about 1920, using fish from the Bay of Quinte area. , Stocking in Scugog centin- ued right through until the early 1950's and for the next 15 years or so, there was uncertainty as to whether the species would flourish in this lake. ~ According to Ms. Lewis, the number of pickerel seemed to increase suddenly and dramatically about 1970. Since then, of course, they have been the object of anglers attention both winter and summer. Despite the heavy fishing, the population seem to be holding up well. The apparent increase in numbers of pickerel has not hurt the muskie population, although the two species of fish, being predators, are in competition with each other. If anything, the two species of bass in the lake, large and smallmouth, may not be as plentiful as they once were. There are presently 15 fish assessment units working at various locations across Ontario, an indication that the Ministry feels they are important to the sport fish management in this province. Ms. Lewis says it will likely be next spring at the earliest before the data from the 1978 and 1980 netting and tagging operations can be compared and analysed fully. If this data shows any trends that the populations are suffering, one measure that could be taken is a shortening of the fishing season. Sport anglers can help the Ministry of Natural Resources with their monit- oring. Any angler who lands a fish with the yellow tag on the back is asked to contact the district office in Lindsay and provide such informa- tion as where and when the fish was caught, its' size and weight. The netting operation is due to conclude on Scugog at the end of this month. By that time, the technicians will have netted and tagged some 2000 fish and over the winter all the data will be studied carefully. It is part of the process to help guarantee that sport fishing remains a valuable and viable industry in this province. <¢ w [8