Why chinook?

[OldTimer]

(09-26-2012 10:42 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  Something has been bugging me quite a bit this season. I really should call the ministry and have my questions answered, but I'll post them here first .

Why does the ministry stock Chinook salmon? Why would they stock a fish that doesn't feed in the rivers, and then have an open season for people to "fish" for such a species in the rivers..... blows my mind.

Why instead... maybe they can stop stocking Chinook... and wait until the lake is ready for Atlantic salmon.. the true native Ontario salmonid. I mean... cohos at least... as least cohos are nice to look at!

I mean... CHINOOK...really!?!?! Of all the things they could stock... WHY CHINOOK! Why does the ministry want our riverbanks to smell like ROTTEN FLESH for an entire month. Snagged, gutted or just left to be.... ALL OF THEM DIE AND SMELL HORRIBLE. It's disgusting to everyone hiking the trails to smell the dead salmon bodies.

I really can't see any logic in stocking chinook.

I'd love to hear everybody's take on this matter, it's really bugging me.

I can understand how you might be scratching your head on this salmon thing – it’s sorta like walking in on a movie that’s half way through and you lack required background info………..

In the early 70’s fishing on Lake Ontario absolutely sucked. Pollution was bad. The once massive Lake Trout population had been decimated by overfishing, and by sea lamprey attacks. The forage fish population was out of control…….. non native Alewife were the major bio-mass. There were no charter fishing boats, or derbies, just reeking mass die offs of alewife washing up on shore each year.

Many programs began throughout the next decade…….. pollution control………. Reduction of phosphates in laundry soaps………. Lamprey barriers and lampricide (poison) use………. And eventually - successful attempts at stocking coho, Chinook and pinks.

Salmon introductions were to revive sportfishing while at the same time establish a top level predator to control the Alewife population. Also note that Salmon are less susceptible to lamprey attack than Lake Trout (but not immune).

At the same time Lake Trout stockings were maintained in hopes of firmly re-establishing this species.

Splake programs came and went on the Great Lakes.

Rainbow and Brown stockings have cycled up and down here and there.

The salmon stockings did do as wished………….. Recreational fishing vastly improved…….. and the Alewife population took a big dive.
Along the way laws were passed that prevented bringing in Salmon Eggs that were not certified as disease free. This stopped all imports and we then needed to rely on collection of eggs here on within the adjoining United States.

Chinook salmon I believe give more “bang for the buck” in regards to ease of rearing and in % returns.

So…………. Here we are today…………… The MNR is attempting to re-introduce a self-sufficient Atlantic salmon program on Lake Ontario - while continuing the existing Pacific and Trout programs to satisfy anglers and the commercial sport fishery industry. Similar programs exist for walleye in the eastern basin.

It is a complicated and fragile process. In fact we now have problems that the Alewife population is crashing – thus throwing an unexpected monkey wrench in the works.

The above is a very simplified fast cut at all the various milestones along the way – I hope it helped….bottom line ----------- it’s a work in progress--------- stand by for about another 20 years….

A good read - for more info:


  mnr_e001346.pdf (Size: 3.07 MB / Downloads: 31)

Cheers,

OldTimer