Thunder Bay MNR studies health of walleye, trout populations

The Ministry of Natural resources is setting nets on more than 50 lakes in northwestern Ontario to monitor fish populations and the health of the species.

The ministry is collecting fish samples to identify areas where walleye, lake trout or brook trout populations may be declining.

“People out on the lakes — either boating or fishing — just [need] to be careful of … our nets that are in the water,” said Thunder Bay MNR fisheries biologist Kim Armstrong.

“They’ll be marked with buoys identifying this as a research project.  [People need] to give them a wide berth and to not handle [them].”

The project includes dozens of lakes of different sizes, ranging from very small to very large.

Depending on the results of the sampling over a period of time, the ministry could ultimately adjust sport fishing regulations in some areas, Armstrong said.

“So we would also look at the cause and we would look at that across the zone, not just within any particular lake,” he said.

“It's the suite of lakes within a zone that the area biologists would make their decision on.”

The project is a continuation of one started in 2008.

Lakes closest to Thunder Bay that fall in the sample area include Blunder, Empire and Bedivere.