The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is asking anglers to weigh in.
The province has released a draft of its management plan for Fisheries Management Zone 15, and is looking for public feedback.
Zone 15 covers about 64,000 bodies of water across 3.8-million hectares of land, stretching from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa River. According to the MNRF, the zone accounted for more than $3.12-million of angler spending in 2010.
The plan covers sustainability, exploitation, habitat, education, and outreach, in both recreational and commercial fishing areas. That includes matters such as fish populations, fishing seasons, bait usage, stocked lakes, and local stakeholders.
Areas of interest include self-sustaining Brook Trout around Algonquin Provincial Park, the cluster of large lakes containing Lake Trout in Muskoka and Haliburton, small lakes with Lake Trout in the south-central part of the zone, and “highly productive” waters in the Ottawa Valley.
The full draft management plan can be read here, and you can provide feedback by mail or via the Environmental Registry of Ontario website before Nov. 28.
