has provided valuable information in this regard both from 

 the public and from provincial lake inventory crews. 



All fifteen hatcheries, located in twelve forest districts 

 across the province, operated during 1969. An official open- 

 ing of North Bay hatchery was conducted by the Minister 

 of Lands and Forests in June, though the station was open 

 for only partial operation, following renovation. 



Fifteen Department employees attended the three-week 

 Fisheries Management Course given each year at the Univer- 

 sity of Gueiph. This course undergoes annual revisions to 

 upgrade and familiarize our staff with current work in 

 fisheries management. 



The hybrid splake, developed for its rapid growth and 

 early maturing qualities, and destined for the rehabilitation 

 of Lake Huron, have already shown promise, despite the 

 rather small initial planting at Meaford in 1968. During 

 the latter part of the 1969-70 fiscal year, and into the 1970-1 

 fiscal year, over one-quarter million splake were released 

 in the vicinity of Vail Point and Douglas Point in Georgian 

 Bay and Lake Huron, respectively. A portion of this lot was 

 also committed to South Bay on Manitoulin Island for 

 follow-up studies. Ontario's ultimate annual commitment 

 to the rehabilitation of these waters is one million yearlings. 

 When coupled with assistance afforded Michigan in a simi- 

 lar program, it becomes obvious that additional hatchery 

 space will be required if inland plantings of native species 

 are to be continued at the present level. 



Kokanee were reared from eggs received from Colorado, 

 Montana and British Columbia as part of a continuing proj- 

 ect to establish breeding populations in the Great Lakes. 

 Fall fingerling kokanee were raised at Wiarton hatchery 

 from spawn collected at Colpoy Creek near Wiarton. The 

 application of fall fingerling plantings to the Lake Ontario 

 streams may well succeed where previous failures had been 

 experienced with eyed eggs and fry. It is apparent that 

 kokanee have already established a small but viable popu- 

 lation in the Lake Huron waters about the Bruce Peninsula 

 and Manitoulin Island. Mature fish exceeding two pounds 

 show promise, in both recreational and commercial fish- 

 eries. 



Coho salmon, from Lake Michigan, were again reared at 

 Chatsworth hatchery and released in the spring of 1970. 

 Similar rates of smolt plantings were applied to the same 

 waters as in 1969. The 1969 planting returned numerous 

 precocious spawners to the Credit River in September of the 

 same year. Approximately fifty per cent were marked with 

 lamprey scars. However, we are optimistic that the coho 

 will be a suitable species, if only on a short-term basis, for 

 early rehabilitation of Lake Ontario, following lamprey con- 



trol. Because the coho must be produced entirely in fish 

 hatcheries (i.e., little hope is held out for natural reproduc- 

 tion in Lake Ontario waters), it's use will be limited and 

 most probably it will be replaced with a species from which 

 natural reproduction in the wild state can be expected. 



Lake trout eggs from Manitoba were received by our 

 Thunder Bay hatchery in exchange for brook trout eggs 

 from Dorion hatchery and maskinonge fry from the Deer 

 Lake station. Good returns from the use of two-year-old 

 lake trout, planted in the Muskoka Lakes, has stimulated a 

 study to be initiated in Lake Opeongo, Algonquin Park, 

 by our Research Branch. 



Fifteen sturgeon, up to thirty-eight inches in length, were 

 transferred from the Ottawa River to the Westport hatchery 

 and subsequently shipped to Russia for genetic work in 

 their sturgeon-caviar hatcheries. At the request of the 

 Canadian Embassy in Quito, Ecuador, 50,000 eyed brook 

 trout eggs were shipped from Dorion hatchery to introduce 

 the species into suitable waters of that country. 



Experimental culture of the yellow pickerel at White Lake 

 hatchery was continued to refine the technique. The dis- 

 covery that pickerel can be reared on manufactured food 

 pellets, and cultured beyond the cannibalistic stage, may 

 be academic, as stocking rates required to exert a significant 

 influence on a body of water are apparently prohibitive. The 

 hatchery culture of yellow pickerel for planting in natural 

 waters can be justified only for introductory plantings, not 

 to supplement an existing population. 



The golden shiner culture project continued at Westport 

 hatchery in an attempt to establish a hatchery oriented 

 brood stock and to determine methods and procedures for 

 the artificial culture of this species by the bait fish industry. 



Several provincial fishing areas across the Province, main- 

 tained by this Department and the Conservation Authori- 

 ties Branch of the Department of Energy and Resources 

 Management, were stocked with catchable size trout. These 

 fish provide quality angling in areas of high population 

 where suitable water and opportunity are limited. 



Studies by Department personnel, in co-operation with 

 the University of Gueiph and the Ontario Water Resources 

 Commission, conclusively proved the serious effect of DDT 

 pesticide on lake trout spawn and early fry stages. The work 

 was carried out at Wiarton hatchery using both Lake Simcoe 

 and Muskoka Lakes stock. 



University and Government research agencies were also 

 provided with Provincial hatchery fish for studies related 

 directly or indirectly to improving our knowledge of fish- 



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