For over 18 years the Lake Nipissing South Shore Association supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources has been running a Walleye Restocking Program to help maintain a healthy fish population in our beautiful lake. Each year volunteers put in hundreds of work hours to make sure future generations will be able to enjoy fishing Lake Nipissing.

Studies show that the survival rate in a natural spawn is about 3 - 4 % while restocking in a properly run hatchery has a success rate of over 85 %!
 

In 2001 / 2002 a new mobile hatchery was built to replace the old but still good working facility. It will allow us to run the hatchery wherever the circumstances (water supply etc.) are best for a particular year and even to take it on the road to schools and other interested groups. Education is one of the main concerns to make this and other similar programs work.

 

In spring when the Walleye spawn our work begins: We catch the fish in nets that will allow us to release it healthy and unharmed after milking them.       Male and female Walleye are brought to shore in live wells and milked to collect and fertilize up to 1 million eggs

Milking the fish is a very delicate job and demands a lot of concentration and attention or the fish could easily be harmed.

Once the eggs and sperm are collected they are mixed. By using a birds feather and stirring them gently we make sure all the eggs get fertilized without being damaged
The eggs are hardened when circulating in a basket of fresh lake water. Using tannic acid we prevent them from sticking toghether, then they are brought to the hatchery
where they are put in jars until they hatch. This will take between 17 and 35 days. Our hatchery holds up to 2 million eggs.

 

Clear water with the right amount of oxygen and at the right temperature is essential for success

Once the fish hatch they are called fry. In previous years these baby Walleye have been released into special ponds to grow to about 1 1/2 inches in size. Then the fingerlings were released into the lake. In 2001 and 2002 some of the fish was released into the lake as fry. A MNR study will show if this will improve the survival rate of the baby fish. The same study will also try to find out if the Walleye returns to the spot where it was released to spawn in years to come.

Cleaning and maintaining the hatchery and ponds conclude the work until winter comes and the lake freezes. It is during the cold months of the year that we do another job: by putting rock piles on the ice that will sink to the bottom once the ice melts we create new spawning beds for the Walleye's natural spawn.

We want to thank everybody involved for the time and effort they put into this great cause. Without all the volunteers it would be impossible to do all the work!
 

Pictures by: André Rieser
Text by: Susanne Rieser