Ontario Boosting Its Fish Populations

Press Release

December 16, 2024

$75 million investment to support recreational fishing and conservation efforts

NORTH BAY — The Ontario government is investing over $75 million to update Ontario’s fish hatchery program to provide better fishing opportunities across the province.

Infrastructure upgrades are planned for three critical fish culture stations to increase the production of key fish species and support fish stocking efforts. These upgrades include:

• Construction of a new building for raising walleye at the Blue Jay Creek Fish Culture Station on Manitoulin Island to increase the production of walleye by as much as 600 per cent annually.

• Improvements to the North Bay Fish Culture Station to enable stocking of over 555,000 high-demand fish, including brook trout, lake trout and rainbow trout.

• Upgrades to the Hill’s Lake Fish Culture Station in Englehart to increase its capacity to raise and stock over 530,000 popular fish including splake and aurora trout.

“These investments are great news for fishing enthusiasts across Ontario. We are modernizing Ontario’s world-class fish culture and stocking program making sure we are best positioned to meet current and future needs,” said Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources. “These improvements will contribute to the sustainable management of fish populations and add to the economic and social benefits of fishing in Ontario.”

Planned improvements include replacing aging infrastructure with modern equipment, increasing capacity for growing larger fish to enhance the number of fish available to anglers, and making operations more efficient and cost effective in part by reducing energy consumption.

Fish are raised in fish culture stations prior to being released into lakes to support fishing and conservation. Fish stocking improves recreational fishing by providing more fish such as walleye, salmon and trout in easy to access waterbodies, including urban angling locations.

Quick Facts

• Each year the Ministry of Natural Resources stocks approximately eight million fish weighing a combined 200 metric tons into more than 1,200 public waterbodies.
• At peak times, there are 20 million fish within the ministry’s nine fish culture stations.
• Over 1.5 million recreational anglers have an economic impact of $1.6 billion per year in Ontario.
• With more than 250,000 lakes and 490,000 kilometres of rivers, Ontario has vast aquatic resources that provide anglers with a wide range of fishing opportunities.
• This investment is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario by expanding and renewing critical infrastructure, with investments of more than $191 billion over the next 10 years.

Quotes

“Today’s significant funding announcement will improve Nipissing’s fishing and tourism sector and contribute to the region’s conservation efforts. We encourage our community to visit and take a tour of the North Bay Fish Culture station once the infrastructure upgrades are complete so you can see firsthand how fish are raised to stock Ontario lakes and rivers.”
– Vic Fedeli
MPP, Nipissing

“This significant investment in Ontario’s fish hatchery program is welcome news for North Bay and all of Northern Ontario. Modernizing these facilities will ensure healthy and sustainable fisheries that enhance our quality of life, attract tourism, and support local economies. Fishing is a time-honoured tradition in our community, and these upgrades will help preserve and grow this vital resource for generations to come.”

– Peter Chirico
Mayor, North Bay

“The OFAH, its members, and affiliate clubs are very enthusiastic about the MNR’s announcement to invest significant dollars into Ontario’s hatchery program. Stocking is an important fisheries management tool that can provide diverse angling opportunities, help rehabilitate depleted stocks and divert angling effort away from more sensitive fisheries. To get the most out of these important infrastructure upgrades, MNR will need to evaluate the performance of its entire stocking program and establish FMZ-level stocking strategies to benefit fisheries and enhance the angler experience.”

– Matt DeMille
Executive Director, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

“Through our lodges and resorts in Northern Ontario, over 400,000 resident and non-resident anglers visit annually to enjoy fishing experiences. These visits contribute over $450 million to Ontario’s GDP. This investment, along with science-based fishing regulations from the province, help to ensure Ontario can maintain high quality fisheries that will continue to draw resident and non-resident anglers from around the world to our northern lakes and rivers. Tourism operators will continue to encourage conservation fishing experiences to support sustainable fish populations. We are pleased to see this level of investment and thank those that work at these fish hatcheries for their dedication. ”
– Laurie Marcil
Executive Director, Northern Ontario Tourists Outfitters Association

Additional Resources