At The Oak

Lake Ontario Fishery Concerns And News

Clarification on the dead bait fish legality issue. This e-mail is from D.E.C. in Albany:

"Subject: Dead bait fish requirements for NY

6 NYCRR Part 35.4 b. (4) states:

(4) Dead bait fish packaged for commercial purposes, and preserved by any method other than freezing only, may be possessed, sold, offered for sale, or bartered for use as bait in any water body except where the use of bait fish, or certain species of bait fish, is prohibited in such water body pursuant to any provision of this Chapter or the Fish and Wildlife Law. Each package of dead bait fish shall be individually labeled, identifying the name of the packager-processor, the name of the fish species, the quantity of fish packaged, and the means of preservation.

6 NYCRR Part 35.4 b. (4) states:

(4) Dead bait fish packaged for commercial purposes, and preserved by any method other than freezing only, may be transported overland. Each package of dead bait fish shall be individually labeled, identifying the name of the packager-processor, the name of the fish species, the quantity of fish packaged, and the means of preservation.

Bottom line:

Dead bait fish must be preserved by a method other than freezing alone (i.e. salting) to be used in New York.

Dead bait fish must meet the labeling requirements.

Dead bait fish that meet the labeling requirements and preservation requirements can be transported overland and used in any body of water where it is legal to use bait fish.

From: Gregory Edward Kozlowski, Fisheries Outreach Coordinator, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233...(518)402-8896"

He also told us that there is no 'grandfather clause.'

Friday, January 26, 2007

Hi Everyone...I would like to pass on the status and plans for the 2007 Pen Rearing Project and the impacts that DEC management decisions will have on stocking at Oak Orchard.

The VHS issue will have an impact on stocking at the Oak; because of it Oak Orchard will not receive any salmon raised at the Caledonia facility for at least the next few years thus eliminating the positive influence this hatchery has on the area. The threat of possibly spreading VHS from Salmon River to other hatcheries has suspended the transfer of fish and eggs from this hatchery to any other ones in the state, thus eliminating Caledonia support to the salmon portion of the LO fishery. With this in mind, I requested and received from our region 8 manager (Web Persals) permission to raise more salmon from SR in pens, so this year we will be raising an additional 42,500 kings bringing our total to 125,000. If all is successful we could possibly be given permission for an additional 40,000 next year, thus raising every salmon stocked in OO in pens.

To do this we needed 2 additional pens, they are currently being built at the Niagara/Orleans Boces and should be done well before we need them. The cost to build these pens and purchase the nets needed to complete them will be about $1500 each.

The most important issue here is that we need continued/increased support from the stakeholder community to assist in raising these fish, it is more important now than ever. The few weeks needed every year to perform this task are small compared to the fishing success we enjoy from our efforts.

Also, if you could find your way to help us defray the costs incurred by the addition of this new equipment to the project it would be greatly appreciated. Any donations no matter what denomination can be sent to Oak Orchard Pen Rearing, c/o Oak Orchard Business Association, PO Box 28, Waterport, NY 14571.

 I would like to thank everyone for your continued support...Bob Songin, Chairman Pen Rearing Committee

December 18, 2006

Very Important E-mail Regarding The Lake Ontario Fishery:

I attended a meeting on December 14th sponsored by the DEC Fisheries Division, along with many other stakeholder representatives the agenda included: Hatcheries Staffing, VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia), Status of the Occidental Damages Fund, New Regulations, Fishing Boat Census, Tributary Creel Survey, Lake Trout Restoration, 2006 Field Update.

I will try to keep this the 'Readers Digest' version of the meeting:

The Fisheries Division including hatcheries is almost fully staffed (Good).

VHS has not been found in trout, salmon or alewifes at this point in time it has only affected warm water species (bass, walleye, musky etc.).

There will be meetings early in 2007 to take input for projects for the Occidental money. (We currently support the purchase of an automatic fin clipping and tagging trailer and improvements in the water supply at Salmon River Hatchery). If you wish to provide input please attend one of these events.

The fishing boat census documents still good fishing in 2006 especially salmon both kings and cohos, but effort (number of fishing trips) continues to decline.

The tributary survey points to good numbers of fish caught in the tribes (salmon, browns and steelhead) during its first year.

There was a large recruitment of alewifes to the lake in 2006 baring any unforeseen issues we should have plenty of bait for the next few years. This being said the salmon averaged over 2 pounds larger in 2006 than in 2005.

There has been a proposal brought to the table to increase the creel limit to 5 fish from the current 3/3/1 of which no more than 2 could be lake trout, and no more than 3 are steelhead. So you could have 2 salmon, 2 steelhead and 1 laker, or 5 salmon or 5 brown trout or 2 lakers and 3 steelhead.

Sincerely, Bob Songin

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Fish Virus Found at Allegheny National Fish Hatchery

Lake and brook trout at Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in Warren, Penn., have tested positive for the fish virus infectious pancreatic necrosis, or IPN.  To eliminate the infection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will remove the entire population of fish and eggs and disinfect the hatchery, according to Hatchery Manager Tracy Copeland.

Copeland expects to remove and possibly destroy a large number of the fish and eggs.  The hatchery now has 720,000 juvenile lake, brook and rainbow trout.

The hatchery also has 2,500 lake trout broodstock, some as old as nine years, and 230,000 lake trout eggs.  Fish from the hatchery are stocked in lakes Erie and Ontario and in and around Allegheny National Forest.

"We will work with our state partners as well as fish health experts to develop strategies to prevent re-infection," Copeland said.

IPN is highly contagious among trout and salmon species, in some cases causing up to 90 percent mortality in young fish.  There is no cure or treatment for the disease.  It does not affect humans, and people cannot contract the disease from handling or eating infected fish.

The virus may be passed from parent fish to offspring through the egg or from diseased fish to healthy fish.  IPN may also be transmitted through bird feces.  While the source of the infection at Allegheny NFH has not been isolated, there are several possible pathways of infection.

Like all federal fish hatcheries, the Allegheny hatchery undergoes strict fish health inspections annually.  The November 2004 inspection showed no IPN, so the infection is presumed to be new in 2005.

The Service is conducting a risk assessment to determine the sources of the infection and the best means to treat it to protect the hatchery in future years. In addition, the Service is moving quickly to reestablish the lake trout program lost this year at Allegheny. The White River National Fish Hatchery in Bethel, Vt., is already raising lake trout to be stocked in 2007.

"While we're very disappointed to lose the fish we have spent so much time and funding to produce, we remain committed to producing high-quality, disease-free fish for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the future," said Copeland.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission classifies IPN as a restricted disease and prohibits the stocking of infected fish into the Great Lakes basin.  Service policy considers IPN to be a pathogen of concern and works to limit the geographic range of the virus.  These policies have driven the decision to depopulate Allegheny National Fish Hatchery.

This article is from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Serious Salmon River Hatchery Concerns...important info from the meeting with the New York D.E.C. on July 7, 2005...Click Here

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Lake Trout Die At Allegheny Hatchery
By Bill Hilts Jr.

Federal stocking efforts suffered another serious setback in late April when nearly half of the 600,000 lake trout died as a result of power loss to the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery in Warren, Pa. The lost fish were seven-inch yearlings slated to be stocked in lakes Erie and Ontario this month — fish earmarked for both New York and Pennsylvania. Backup generators, while tested prior to a scheduled power shutdown to perform repairs, failed at an inopportune time. "While losing that many fish is certainly a very serious matter and a tragedy for this year's stocking program, the good news is that the hatchery lost very few fingerlings being raised for 2006, as well as the brood stock for this hatchery," said Kofi Fynn-Aikins, Director of the Lower Great Lakes Office for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the person that oversees the Allegheny facility.

Earlier this year, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation announced at the State of the Lake meetings for Lake Ontario that the Allegheny hatchery had suffered a disease problem that resulted in fewer fish being raised. Originally, Lake Erie was to receive 120,000 lake trout; Lake Ontario was in line to receive 500,000 yearlings. It was determined that New York would instead receive 509,000 fish total from ANFH, divided up between the two Great Lakes.

"While we still don't know the total inventory of the fish lost in the hatchery, we'll be looking at roughly 52,000 Klondike strain lake trout for Lake Erie and somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 Seneca and Superior strain lake trout for Lake Ontario," said Bill Culligan, Great Lakes Section Supervisor for DEC.

Because of the reduced numbers, DEC is recommending that the federal stocking of these fish be in one location to improve survival rates. The two locations being discussed were the eastern basin of Lake Ontario off Stony Point, and off Olcott in the western basin of the lake.

Because fish survival is reduced when they stock fewer numbers at a site, DEC's first choice is to barge stock these fish off Stony Point. However, there have been administrative problems with the federal aid grants and the contract, for barge stocking has not yet been settled.

In the meantime, the state has about a week to decide what to do and where to stock. If the barge contract issue wasn't resolved, DEC opted to shore stock off Olcott where it's had good survival rates in the past.

As a show of good faith, Bob Songin of Rochester, acting president of the Lake Ontario Sportfishing Stakeholders Committee, polled many of his members, and the western basin people voted in full support to stock all available lake trout off Stony Point, if possible. Again, this is more ammunition for the Niagara River Hatchery proposal to push for such a facility here in Niagara.

The Federal government stocks lake trout in the lakes Erie and Ontario as part of a restoration effort to restore these fish back to these waters.

This article was in the Niagara Gazette.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

From Mike Waterhouse...regarding the modified creel limit proposal for steelhead:

The new creel limit proposal for steelhead is as follows:

Maintain 3 steelhead on the open waters of the lake but change the minimum length to 21". The 21" minimum length would also apply on all the stream and rivers feeding Lake Ontario including the Niagara River.

Please write or email me with your input on this subject so you can be represented on this issue. I can be reached by email at: sportfishing@orleansny.com or by writing to me at:

Mike Waterhouse
Sportfishing Coordinator
Orleans County Tourism
14016 Route 31 West
Albion, New York 14411

Thank you...Mike Waterhouse

Friday, January 15, 2005

The D.E.C. is proposing a change to the creel limit on Lake Ontario from a possibility of up to 3 steelhead (3 silver fish in combination) to allowing only one steelhead per person. The reason for this proposal is that there appears to be a poor recruitment from juveniles to adults in the steelhead population.

The D.E.C. offers as proof of this, the poor return of steelhead to the rivers and streams on the Eastern end of the lake. They also offer a study that was done on the Black River.

Having taken the position of Sportfishing Coordinator for the Tourism Department of Orleans County, I would like to address this issue. For me to be able to do that, I need to hear from all of the stakeholders that utilize the Orleans County waters of Lake Ontario and the stream and rivers within the county.

I have already contacted most of the charter captains and local businesses, but now I am trying to reach the private fishermen that fish these waters.

Please write or email me with your input on this subject so you can be represented on this issue. I can be reached by email at: sportfishing@orleansny.com or by writing to me at:

Mike Waterhouse
Sportfishing Coordinator
Orleans County Tourism
14016 Route 31 West
Albion, New York 14411

No matter what your opinion is, whether you are for or against the proposed change, let your voice be heard. Take the time to email or write me. Thank you.

Good Fishing...Mike Waterhouse

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Note: FWIW, we believe this is the most important issue concerning the future of our sportfishery that we have encountered in years. Why destroy what we have? Please e-mail or write a letter to Mike...let it come from your head and your heart.

Thanks,

Joe and Shirley