Forty thousand rainbow trout were released into a creek that flows into the Beaver River with the help of some volunteers with the Georgian Triangle Anglers Association on Monday morning.
“Our primary purpose today is to get them out there on a nice day where there is some food, and they can adapt to the environment and hopefully move into the Beaver River system,” explains Al Gibson, GTAA Hatchery. Gibson says the fish will eventually move down into Georgian Bay and then migrate back up again.
A recent study published in a fisheries management journal shows that only 53 percent of migrating trout being tracked manage to get past the dam in Thornbury to spawn upstream.
The study also found that sportsmen caught a large amount of fish.
Raising fish in tanks is labour intensive, so helping wild fish reproduce successfully is critical to the association’s mission.
“We do our part with the removal of obstructions, and making sure the fish can get up the river,” says volunteer Jim Bertram.
The trout stocking is supported by the community hatchery program through Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, along with money raised in local derbies.
