Special Projects 



1. Netting Operations 



Eight special trap netting projects were undertaken by the Department's 

 net staff in 1961. These operations were conducted on Mississippi Lake in 

 the Kemptville District; Chats Lake, Mississagagon Lake and Baptiste Lake 

 in the Tweed District; Pigeon Lake and Sturgeon Lake in the Lindsay District; 

 Lake Timagami in the North Bay District; and Lac des Mille Lacs in the Port 

 Arthur District. The net staff from the Port Arthur District also worked on 

 Rainy Lake in the Fort Frances District instructing and assisting the local 

 commercial fishermen with operation of their newly acquired trap net 

 equipment. 



2. Patricia Inventory Project 



This project was initiated in 1959 to obtain factual information on the 

 fisheries resource in the Patricia area for use in the management of the 

 existing commercial and sport fisheries and for planning the future develop- 

 ment and utilization of the resource in the area. 



In 1961, fisheries and limnological surveys were conducted on Big Trout 

 Lake, Sutton Lake, Hawley Lake, Sandy Lake, Wunnumin Lake and Attawa- 

 piskat Lake. Results from these studies indicate that these waters are not 

 as productive of fishes as are waters located farther south in Ontario. 

 Generally speaking, the growth rate of the fishes in the Patricia area is also 

 slower and the annual recruitment is less certain, all of which points to the 

 need for controlled development of the resource. 



3. Water Quality Survey 



Because of the excellent results obtained from the water quality survey 

 conducted as part of the Patricia Inventory Project, this portion of the 

 programme was extended to include approximately 150 of the larger waters 

 located throughout the Province in 1961. Determination of water quality of 

 a body of water through chemical analysis provides an index of productivity. 

 When combined with previously determined physical and biological factors, 

 potential productivity in terms of fishes may be determined for any lake. 

 Potentially productive areas have been found to coincide with extinct Pleisto- 

 cene lake beds or marine submerged areas. The central, undifferentiated 

 Shield area of the Province is generally less productive. Further study and 

 expansion of this programme is necessary before any final conclusions may be 

 obtained from this project. 



4. Rainy Lake Project 



This fisheries programme, which was initiated in 1959 in co-operation 

 with the Minnesota Department of Conservation, was continued in 1961, 

 Results from chemical analyses of the water revealed a fairly low level of 

 potential productivity. Creel census and gill netting indices, however, demon- 

 strate that the lake production is in line with the current annual harvest. This 

 co-operative programme is expected to be continued for several years as a 

 joint effort to study the angling and commercial fishery of Rainy Lake. 



5. Timagami Lake Project 



The Timagami Lake Project was initiated in 1959, and has continued 

 through 1961. The primary purpose of the project was to study the composi- 

 tion of the various fish populations and to estimate the annual harvest of game 

 fishes from the lake. 



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