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.

Visit a fish culture station