Fishing regulations set to change in the New Year

News Release
MNR

Several changes to Ontario’s fishing regulations come into effect on January 1, 2008. The changes are part of the ministry’s new ecological framework for recreational fisheries management in Ontario. Under this approach, the ministry is managing fisheries on a zone basis rather than on a lake-by-lake basis.

The total number of Fisheries Management Zones (formerly Fishing Divisions) has been reduced to 20 across Ontario. Six of the Fisheries Management Zones (Zones) are located in northwest Ontario (2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9). Most anglers in the northwest Region will not notice a significant change in regulations; however, in some cases it was necessary to harmonize different regulations from the former Fishing Divisions. Zone 7 is an amalgamation of Fishing Divisions from the ministry’s northwest and northeast regions and includes regulations from both regions. More than 150 (25 per cent) redundant exceptions have been removed from the regulations in the northwest, making it much simpler for an angler to fish and follow the regulations. A map of the zones is available at www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/fishing/fmz/newzones.html#fmzmap.

Some of the regulation changes include:
*Opening all stocked trout waters (put-grow-and-take lakes) for angling year-round
*Holders of a valid fishing licence catn now dip net for whitefish without a special permit from October 1 to November 15 (limits are the same as angling limits)
*Reducing the lake sturgeon season to run from January 1 to April 30, and July 1 to December 31for northwest zones (one fish with Sport Fishing Licence in Zones 2, 4 and 5, with minimum length 190 cm (74.8 in.) in Zones 4 and 5)
*Implementing a brook trout size limit in Zones 2 and 4 (season from January 1 to Labour Day, with a five fish limit for a Sport Fishing Licence, two fish limit for a Conservation Fishing Licence, only one fish greater than 30 cm (11.8 in.))
*New sunfish limits (50 with a Sport Fishing Licence and 25 with a Conservation Fishing Licence)
* There are a number of changes to the regulations in the western part of Zone 7 in the Northwest Region as many of the regulations from the Northeast Region have been adopted zone-wide. Anglers should particularly note changes for northern pike, bass, and trout species in the summary.
For complete details of regulation changes, refer to the 2008-2009 Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary. Before going fishing, anglers should carefully review the information outlined in the summary.
The 2008-2009 Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary is now available from licence issuers, ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres and on the ministry’s website at ontario.ca/fishing.