Updated 2020-04-20 13:05:32
Lake Ontario -> 3.0 Deep Pelagic And Offshore Benthic Zone Goal -> Lake Trout
Reporting Interval
2014 - 2019
Area
Meeting Target?
Meets
Indicator Trend
No trend
Confidence?
High
Catch/harvest rates of Lake Trout in the lake fishery at levels that permit lake trout rehabilitation.
Harvest rates during 2014-2019 reporting period in Canadian waters were below target (Lantry et al. 2014). Harvest totals in U.S. waters were below target during 2017-2019 portion of the reporting period, however during 2014-2016 harvest exceeded the U.S. 10,000 lake trout target. Harvest in 2019 was 58% below the 2013-2016 average (Connerton and Eckert 2019, 2020) and the declines in lake trout catch and harvest during 2017-2019 coincided with good to excellent fishing quality for other trout and salmon species (especially Chinook salmon).
Methodology
US Creel Survey
Catch and harvest by anglers fishing from boats on US waters of Lake Ontario is measured by a direct-contact creel survey, which covers the open-lake fishery from the Niagara River in the western end of the lake to Association Island near Henderson Harbor in the eastern basin (Connerton and Eckert 2019). The survey uses boat trips as the primary unit of effort. Boat counts are made at boat access locations and interviews are based on trips completed during April 15 - September 30, 1985-2019.
ON Creel Survey
Catch and harvest of Lake Trout in the recreational fishery is assessed through the Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Angler Survey (Bowlby and Savoie, 2011; Stewart and Bowlby 2009) but is geographically constrained to the central and western portion of Lake Ontario. In 1987 and 1992 creel surveys were conducted in both western Lake Ontario and in the Kingston Basin. It was found that the Kingston Basin harvest was 3.5x higher than the western portion of the lake (Brenden et al 2011). This relationship is used to estimate the harvest for the Kingston Basin where the whole lake estimate of harvest is the sum of the western harvest and the estimated Kingston Basin harvest.
Other Resources
Connerton,M.J.. and Eckert, T. H. 2019. 2019 Lake Ontario fishing boat survey. Section 2 In 2019 NYSDEC Annual Report, Bureau of Fisheries Lake Ontario Unit and St. Lawrence River Unit to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Lake Ontario Committee.
Lantry, B. F., Lantry, J. R. and Connerton, M. J. 2019. Lake trout rehabilitation in Lake Ontario, 2017. Section 5 In 2017 NYSDEC Annual Report, Bureau of Fisheries Lake Ontario Unit and St. Lawrence River Unit to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission Lake Ontario Committee.
Lantry, J., Schaner, T., and Copeland T. 2014. A management strategy for the restoration of lake trout in Lake Ontario, 2014 Update. Available from http://www.glfc.org/lakecom/loc/lochome.php [accessed 03 March 2015].
Schneider, C. P., Schaner, T., Orsatti, S., Lary, S. and D. Busch. 1997. A management strategy for Lake Ontario lake trout. Report to the Lake Ontario Committee.
Contributing Author(s)
- Brian F. Lantry - U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- Jeremy P. Holden - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF)
- Michael J. Connerton - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
- Dimitry Grosky - USFWS Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office