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i + ---- gt | { | i 10 - PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, October 14, 1992 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" No changes to winter fishery for 1992-93 season (From page 1) owners are not the ones leaving the garbage, itis the openice an- glers, so by banning huts the problem would not be resolved. Banning ice huts would re- duce the annual walleye effort by 45 per cent and the harvest by 19 per cent. It removes the in-hut angling opportunities and may not be as effective because some hut own- ers will switch to open-ice an- gling or portable huts, probably increasing the harvest taken. "The open ice angler who moves around always does bet- ter," Ms. Deacon said. The final solution is to close the winter fishery and remove winter angling opportunities. Although it would reduce the annual walleye effort by 56 per cent and the harvest by 39 per cent, "we do not have to go to that extreme at this point," she added. She has always said the last thing the MNR wants to do is close the winter fishery. Mrs. Deacon said it would hurt the local economy and once a fishery is closed it is not likely tobe reonened in the future. The complete creel (angler survey) which was performed on Lake Scugog last year showed the lake received the most angler effort of any lake in the Kawarthas. Over the years the number of ice huts has drastically in- creased from 144 huts in 1975 to 293 in 1980 to more than 800 last season. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the angler effort on the lake was similar to the other Kawarthas, but has increased over the years to where the lake cannot sustain the amount of ef- fort to the amount of walleye harvested. It began to take longer for an angler to catch a walleye. In 1982it took on average five to 10 hours to catch a walleye. This has increased to 35 hours. This again set off another warning light. The walleye are not living long enough to spawn and there is no restocking project for the lake. This combination of fac- tors prompted the ministry to look into a solution to ensure thereis fishingin the future. A heated debate followed the MNR officials' presentation. Anglers and landowners both had an opportunity to express their views. "All we are after is some shared responsibility between winter and summer anglers," said Greg St.John, president of the Scugog Anglers Association. The Anglers Association, which formed earlier this year, is doing what it can to.clean up the lake and access routes to it. The group has placed 30 spon- sored garbage cans along the lakeside to cut down on the de- bris around the lake. : Mr. St. John told the Star he agrees with shortening the sea- son and changing the catch and possession limit. "We want to keep winter fish- ing," Mr. St. John said. Mayor Howard Hall told the Star, "everyone is going to have to work together and co-operate or they are going to lose the fish- ery." He said banning huts is not the solution to reduce the har- vest of fish. "Shortening the season may be the way to go to help the fish harvest," he added. Whatever the solution he said "the area needs to be looked af- terorit willbe depleted." Mrs. Deacon said the lake can make a recovery. "The lake is quite capable of coming back. It needs us to show it some stewardship and giveitachance,"shesaid. Mrs. Deacon told the Star af- ter the meeting she was pleased with the number of people who came toshare their ideas. "It was what we expected. There was a great diversity in opinions. Most people though, were in agreement that we do have a problem," she added. Everyone present at the meeting was provided with a questionnaire allowing them to voice their individual opinions. The MNR will read each of the surveys and come to a solution which it hopes will make all in- volved happy. Anyone who was not able to attend the meeting can call the ministry and request an infor- mation package and question- naire. They will be accepted un- til the end of October. Once all opinions are consid- ered, the ministry will make a decision based on the consensus of the comments. She said a de- cision is expected by the end of December. Mrs. Deacon encouraged eve- ryone to make suggestions. "This truly is a public consul- tation exercise. We have not made a decision, we want an- glers' comments," she said. Whatever the solution, no new laws will be in place until the 1993-94 winter season. "This year everything is stat- us quo," she added. - a 4 is Fae . + 2 x WO Pr . x 3 Ba A he 4 ' An electrical fire at a farm near the Uxbridge/Scugog buildings on the farm of Floyd Evans. Firefighters fro lessly as the buildings, fuelled by more than 5,500 bale LR an PE border on Saturday night destroyed two m Scugog and Uxbridge watched help- s of hay and straw, burned out of con- trol. The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office has pegged the damage from the blaze at $230,000 to $250,000. See story on page 1 for details. J SC windshield stone chips. Z =z = fe Wo 72,22 Z £225 7 ZZ Zz zZ2 = "=m Z - _ ZZ zzz = Z zz =o 27% ZZ EE ec nee mw = = =2 = vr = wm Cold weather's on its way and Cracked Windshields run easily when your car heater is on. Port Perry Auto Glass technicians use an incredible new process to repair = mw YH Bm ® W HY RD m gE Yui be LB And your insurance company will waive your deductible on stone repairs to keep insurance costs down. PETER SIT------ POEL PERRY uto glass & trim id. it 985-8507 Port Perry 668-2003 Whitby a 139 Water Street & Mobile Servic 6 High Street, Port Perry REESE Walleye first found in Scugog in 1955 By Kelly Lown Port Perry Star The problem of an increased walleye harvest and angler ef- fort is not new to the Kawartha Lake fisheries. Other Kawar- tha Lakes have been closed due to intense fishing, leaving Lake Scugog as the only winter fishery in the system. Lake Scugog is the shallowest of all the Kawartha Lakes with a mean depth of four and a half feet. In the beginning there was only muskie and large mouth bass in the lake. Walleye were first introduced to the lake in 1948. The source is believed to have been the Bay of Quinte. Walleye were not discovered in Scugog until 1955 when 92 walleye were found in carp nets. Lake Scugog was not a heavily fished lake in the beginning. It wasn't until 1970 when the walleye population took hold and the fishery blossomed. The walleye population took long- er to increase because the lack of fast moving water slowed down the spawning process. : When the other lakes in the Kawartha systems could not take additional angler pressure the winter seasons were shut down. Lake Scugog's walleye population increased which al- lowed the winter fishery. The walleye in the lake now are about the ninth or 10th generation. In the 1970s and mid 1980s the lake received the same amount of angler pressure as other lakes in the system. In 1992 the winter fishery received the highest level of angler ef- fort than any other Kawartha Lake, and on an annual basis re- cieves more pressure than the Bay of Quinte per hectar. The increased effort comes from the increase in winter fish- ing. The effort has continued to rise as has the amount harvest- ed and the lake cannot sustain the pressure. The Ministry of Natural Resources will be making a decision later this year on a solution to the harvest problem. (See separate story). LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name. Sorry, no anonymous letter will be printed. CMHC gf SCHL Helping to house Canadians [2 (ORY IDO AL TAY DI 2h) DO YOU QUALIFY 0) RII ART BN WAH ON 201030 3 (DAY I DN 14 0 IAN I 1 Ws If you are a low-income homeowner, you may be eligible for up to $5,000. (which may not have to be repaid) to assist you in repairing your home or make it accessible to a disabled person. Funds are made available through CANADA MORTGAGE AND HOUSING CORPORATION. We are now processing applications for the 1992 budget allocation. If you require financial assistance in repairing vour home please contact our office to apply for the RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (RRAP), (O00 51 Df Bt BSH 01 LEAN BN DAE Bf D4 29 14 14 1 OA 1-416-404-0020 . | EA | Canada ao RL RT me CE v ' ! ol i { | | | ! }