Ontario’s fish stocking program
Information about fish stocking and the approximately 8 million fish released into Ontario waters each year.
Overview
Ontario’s fish culture and stocking program helps support recreational fishing in Ontario which more than 1.5 million anglers enjoy each year. The program runs 9 fish culture stations and stocks around 8 million fish each year to help restore fish species and improve fish populations. It also helps grow Ontario’s economy by about $1.6 billion annually.
Descriptive transcript: Ontario’s Fish Culture and Stocking Program
How to find a stocked lake
You can learn which fish species and locations were stocked with the Fish ON-Line tool or you can contact your nearest ministry work centre.
Better fishing
Fish stocking improves recreational fishing by:
- providing chances to catch popular sport fish like Walleye, salmon and trout
- allowing for longer seasons or higher catch limits in some areas
- stocking fish in easy to access places
Conservation efforts
Fish stocking also protects and rebuilds fish populations, including species at risk. For example, the program helps:
- return Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario
- find a way to culture at-risk mussel species
- culture a deep-water cisco that disappeared from Lake Ontario in the 20th century
Stocking strategy
Fish raised in Ontario fish culture stations are released into:
- 1,200 water bodies annually
- 2,000 lakes and rivers on a 4-year cycle
Locations
Ontario is divided into 20 Fisheries Management Zones. Each zone develops a fisheries management plan that decides which species and water bodies to stock.
Fish species:
- Atlantic salmon
- Aurora trout
- bloater
- brook trout
- brown trout
- Chinook salmon
- lake trout
- rainbow trout
- splake
- lake whitefish
- walleye
Fish culture stations
Fish for stocking are raised in Ontario’s 9 fish culture stations. You can book a guided tour at any fish culture station. 3 locations also offer a self-guided visitor centre.