Creel Survey 1936- 2014 78 years and counting Build it and they will - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶

Jan 03, 2023 150 likes •394 views

Harkness Laboratory of Fisheries Research Lake Opeongo Creel Survey 1936- 2014 78 years and counting Build it and they will come.. Highway 60 near Lake of Two Rivers 1950s Opeongo road - 1942 Establishment of Harkness Lab - 1936

SLIDE 1

Lake Opeongo Creel Survey

1936-2014… …78 years and counting

Harkness Laboratory of Fisheries Research

SLIDE 2

Build it and they will come…..

Highway 60 near Lake of Two Rivers – 1950’s

Opeongo road - 1942

SLIDE 3

Establishment of Harkness Lab - 1936

Costello Lake Camp Log Lab – Current Site

SLIDE 4

Establishment of Park Creel Surveys

SLIDE 5

Lake Opeongo

SLIDE 6

Creel Beginnings

 Census anglers harvest and effort  Obtain biological samples from lake

trout, smallmouth bass and brook trout

 No schedule initially, merely tried to

interview all anglers

 Cleaned fish in return for

information and samples

SLIDE 7

Current Sampling

 Stratified, randomized sampling schedule  Differentiate between overnight and day tips  Collect biological information from LT and SMB

Length, weight, sex, maturity
Gonad condition and weight
Calcified aging structures
Ancillary sampling depending on project

 Component of mark/recapture

SLIDE 8

Evolution of the Opeongo Creel

 Type of angling/angler

50’s saw an increase in overnight camping
Decrease in guided trips (CUE 1.5-2 X higher with guides)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 Thousands of Campers Year

Algonquin Park Interior Campers

1 2 3 4 5 6 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Day Trip/Overnight CUE Year

Daytrip/Overnight CUE

SLIDE 9

Evolving Fishery

 Changes in technology

1930’s – use of William’s Wabler
1940’s – switch from canoe to motorboats
1960’s – use of depth sounders/fish finders
1980’s – downriggers
2000’s - GPS units, bathymetric charts

 Is one hour of effort in 1930 equivalent

to one hour of effort in 2012?

SLIDE 10

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015

Total Harvest of Lake Trout Lake Trout Targetted Effort (angler hours) Year

Lake Opeongo Lake Trout Harvest and Effort (1936-2012)

Establishment of Smallmouth Bass Establishment of Lake Herring

SLIDE 11

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Harvest per Unit Effort Number of Adult Lake Trout (8-20 years) Year

Lake Opeongo Adult Lake Trout Population (8-20 years of Age)

Reproduced from Vascotto, 2006

SLIDE 12

1948 Lake Herring Effect

SLIDE 13

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2015

Total Harvest of Lake Trout Lake Trout Targetted Effort (angler hours) Year

Lake Opeongo Lake Trout Harvest and Effort (1936-2012)

Establishment of Smallmouth Bass Establishment of Lake Herring

SLIDE 14

Recent Trends

SLIDE 15

Possible Explanation

 Warmer climate = increased SMB survival  Increased SMB predation on LH in the fall  Observation of decrease in lake herring size and

abundance

 Reduced particle size for lake trout = reduced

growth

SLIDE 16

Role of the Opeongo Creel

 Harkness

Baseline data to support other Harkness research

programs, recruit outside researchers

Outreach to anglers
Training platform for students, future fisheries

professionals

 Algonquin Park

Integral component of fisheries monitoring, Interior vs.

Corridor effort, Sustainability of lake trout fisheries

Sampling for invasive / non-native species

SLIDE 17

Role of Opeongo Creel - Provincially

 One of few long term data sources for lake trout  Useful and been used for examining:

Effects of climate change on food web dynamics
Evolutionary pressures of harvesting
Effects of harvesting on size structure
Effects of species introductions on lake trout food webs

SLIDE 18

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 1925 1945 1965 1985 2005 2025

Total Harvest of Lake Trout Lake Trout Targetted Effort (angler hours) Year

Lake Opeongo Lake Trout Harvest and Effort (1936-2012)

Establishment of Smallmouth Bass Establishment of Lake Herring First Rock Bass Observation

SLIDE 19

SLIDE 20

SLIDE 21

Importance of the Creel

 An early landmark paper by Professor Fred Fry in

the statistics journal Biometrics developed methodology to analyze creel survey data (Fry, 1949)

SLIDE 22