**ABSTRACT NOT FOR CITATION WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION. The title, authors, and abstract for this completion report are provided below. For a copy of the full completion report, please contact the author via e-mail at andy.todd@ontario.ca or via telephone at 613-476-3147. Questions? Contact the GLFC via email at stp@glfc.org or via telephone at 734-662-3209.**
Management implications of Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon restoration science
1Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF), Lake Ontario Management Unit, 41
Hatchery Lane, RR#4, Picton, Ontario K0K 2T0
2Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation Unit, Trent University,
2140 East Bank Dr., Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8
June 2015
ABSTRACT:
A technical workshop was
held February 18–20, 2014 in Alliston, Ontario to assess progress, identify
knowledge gaps and management implications in the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon
Restoration Program. Participants presented preliminary findings from ongoing
research and monitoring programs in support of Atlantic salmon restoration in
Lake Ontario and shared experiences, knowledge, and perspectives among
restoration partners and invited experts from other jurisdictions. One product
of the technical workshop was a synthesis report, detailing key findings,
hypotheses-of-effect and management implications. The extended abstracts of the presentations,
associated questions and answers, and facilitated discussion notes are
reported.
The Atlantic Salmon
Program Steering Committee held a second two-day science transfer and
management workshop to review the findings and advice detailed in the first
workshop report. The Steering Committee
considered a broader suite of management issues related to achieving the
long-term goals of the restoration program, including funding, communications,
governance, logistics and short-term priorities vs. long-term outcomes. The
Steering Committee developed a five-year plan to guide the program and
coordinate efforts towards the ultimate goal of a restored wild population of
Atlantic Salmon in Lake Ontario. The term of the plan is for five years
(2015-2019). The plan is intended to be
responsive to change and will be reviewed and adjusted as needed. The plan is
in draft form and will be circulated for internal review and then released for
broader public consultation. The timing for public release of the plan will
depend on internal approval procedures.
The following six draft program objectives
have been proposed to advance the Atlantic Salmon Restoration program towards
the long-term goal. The objectives fit within the four pillars of the“Bring
back the Salmon” (www.bringbackthesalmon.ca) program and are consistent with
benchmarks defined in the 1995 plan ((Miller-Dodd and Orsatti, 1995) and
subsequent reviews. The draft objectives
are supported with a number of strategies that together will guide program
priorities, planning and coordination and performance measurement and reporting
over the next five years:
Objective 1: Improve fish
culture and stocking practices to increase the number/percentage and fitness of
stocked smolts to increase the potential for retuning adults to spawn
successfully
Objective 2: Increase
adult returns to the restoration streams.
Objective 3: Improve
fish habitat as defined by the Fish Habitat Team including riparian area, fish
passage, water quality (temperature and siltation) and in-stream structure
(spawning and nursery habitat).
Objective 4: Decide
which strain(s) are best suited for restoration by 2019.
Objective 5:
Establish a recreational tributary fishery for Atlantic Salmon by 2019
(tributaries to be defined through regulation).
Objective 6: Improve the general public and angler awareness, support and confidence in the program.