Sources of revenue

The province spends 100% of hunting and fishing revenue on fish and wildlife management. This includes revenue from:

  • commercial and recreational licence fees
  • royalties
  • fines and penalties

Improving fishing and hunting

We use funds collected from fishing and hunting to:

  • stock almost 8 million fish a year in lakes across Ontario
  • maintain and improve Fish ON-Line, a mobile fishing information application
  • have conservation officers on duty to enforce our laws
  • invest in public communications to promote fishing and hunting and inform the public
  • conduct research and monitoring to inform policies on fish and wildlife populations, such as moose harvest guidelines

Supporting enforcement and safety

Revenue collected supports:

  • safety and education campaigns for hunting and fishing
  • charges for poaching and unsafe hunting
  • conservation officers on duty (working over 90,000 hours a year)

Conservation Officer Powers and Authorities

Supporting conservation

Your fees also support conservation efforts to:

  • protect native fish from invasive species (such as invasive carp, formerly known as Asian carp, and round goby)
  • improve habitat for fish and wildlife
  • monitor for diseases that affect fish and wildlife
  • stock and re-establish fish species by operating 9 fish culture stations
  • survey fish and wildlife populations (such as size, age, numbers and general health)

Protecting fish and wildlife health 

Visit a fish culture station

Annual reports

To read our previous annual reports visit https://collections.ola.org/ser/302250/.