Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Updated 2023-12-19 17:51:22

Lake Ontario -> 2.0 Offshore Pelagic Zone Goal -> Brown Trout & Coho Salmon

Maintaining or increasing catch rates of Brown Trout and Coho Salmon in the lake and tributary fisheries

Brown Trout Catch Rates

Brown Trout catch rates in New York waters of Lake Ontario during the 2014-2019 reporting period decreased by 32% compared to the 2008-2013 reporting period (Connerton et al 2020). In Ontario waters, angler success in the Brown Trout fishery is not well documented because much of the effort is from shore, boat effort is low, and the survey in the northern zone begins in  June after the targeted fishery for Brown Trout occurs in spring. Thus, Ontario angler survey shows low and highly variable catch rates for Brown Trout through the entire time series (Connerton et al 2017). Nonetheless, Brown Trout catch rate declined in Ontario waters by 63% during the reporting period (surveys in 2016 and 2019) compared to previous years (surveys in 2011-2013). It is possible that Brown Trout were targeted less by anglers in 2018 and 2019 as a result of record high catch rates for Chinook Salmon in those years. Anglers will often target Brown Trout less when Chinook Salmon fishing is productive as it was in those years.

In tributaries, limited data from New York show no consistent change in Brown Trout catch rates during the two most-recent reporting periods. Catch rate trends depended on location and year. For example, when comparing catch rates recorded in 2015 and 2019 to those in 2011, the change ranged from a 690% increase in the Niagara River to a 75% decrease in Genesee River (Prindle and Bishop 2020). Overall, average catch rates among all 21 tributaries surveyed in 2015/2019 (two years surveyed) declined by 24% during this reporting period compared to 2011. Most of the decline can be attributed to lower fishing quality among tributaries in 2015. Ontario conducted its first Lake Ontario tributary creel survey in fall 2014-spring 2015 and catch rates for anglers targeting Brown Trout were comparable to rates reported in New York (~0.07 fish per hr).

 Coho Catch Rates

Coho Salmon catch rates in New York waters of Lake Ontario during 2014-2019 averaged 45% lower than in the previous reporting period (Connerton et al 2020). Catch rates were exceptionally higher during the last reporting period compared to the long-term record (four of the six years ranked in the top ten). Although catch rate during 2017 was the 6^th highest observed, catch rates in three years (2015, 2016, 2019) during the current reporting period were among the lowest catch rates recorded in the annual 35-year survey (Connerton et al 2020). In Ontario, the lake fishery was surveyed twice during the current reporting period (in 2016 and 2019) and catch rates for Coho Salmon averaged 30% higher than the previous reporting period. Ontario lake anglers experienced a record high catch rate of Coho Salmon in 2019 and a more typical catch rate in 2015 (OMNRF 2020). In tributaries, limited data from New York indicate a declining trend among the years surveyed. The Coho Salmon fishery in New York occurs primarily in the Salmon River and catch rates during this reporting period (surveyed 2015 and 2019) averaged 64% lower than in 2011 and 31% less than the average of 2005 and 2006 (Prindle and Bishop 2020). In Ontario, angler catch rates for Coho salmon among ten tributaries surveyed in 2015 were comparable to angler catch rates in Salmon River in that year (~0.01 fish per hour). Ontario tributaries were not previously surveyed therefore evaluation of a trend is not possible there.

Figure 1. Catch rates (fish•angler hr-1) of Brown Trout in the open waters of Lake Ontario during April 15-September 30, 1985-2019. In New York (left y-axis), the angler survey is conducted in southern and eastern Lake Ontario, and the catch rates shown are for charter boats only (Connerton et al 2020). In Ontario (right y-axis), the angler survey is conducted in western Lake Ontario, and the catch rates shown are for all fishing boats (OMNR 2020).

Figure 2. Catch rates (fish•angler hr-1) of Brown Trout in New York and Province of Ontario tributaries of Lake Ontario. In New York, the angler survey was conducted on 21 tributaries of Lake Ontario from 2005-2019 (Prindle and Bishop et al 2020). In Ontario, the angler survey was conducted on 10 tributaries in 2015 (OMNRF 2020).

Figure 3. Catch rates (fish•angler hr-1) of Coho Salmon in the open waters of Lake Ontario during April 15-September 30, 1985-2019. In New York, the angler survey is conducted in southern and eastern Lake Ontario, and the catch rates shown are for charter boats only (Connerton et al 2020). In Ontario, the angler survey is conducted in western Lake Ontario, and the catch rates shown are for all fishing boats (OMNR 2020).

Figure 4: Catch rates (fish•angler hr-1) of Coho Salmon in tributaries of Lake Ontario during September-November for the years shown. In New York, the Coho Salmon fishery occurs mostly in the Salmon River (Prindle and Bishop 2020). In Ontario, the angler survey was conducted on 10 tributaries in September 2014-May 2015 (OMNR 2020).