Prioritizing fish habitat improvement actions to achieve Lake Ontario’s Fish Community Objectives

Session: Great Lakes Fish Habitat Priorities Development, Implementation, and Adaptive Management (1)

Jana Lantry, NYSDEC, [email protected]
Jake La Rose, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, [email protected]
Jeff Tyson, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, [email protected]
Steven LaPan, NYSDEC, [email protected]
Andy Todd, MNRF, [email protected]

Abstract

The Lake Ontario Committee (LOC), with support from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, has initiated a process to prioritize actions that improve fish habitat to help achieve Lake Ontario’s Fish Community Objectives (FCO).  A group of technical specialists from US and Canadian agencies systematically identified fish habitat impediments which were hypothesized to be impacting the status of FCO species at the lake level.  The process identified conditions needed for specific life stages as well as potential actions to address impediments.  A variety of high priority, place-focused actions were identified in the waters of New York and Ontario such as the restoration of fish passage to tributaries, rehabilitation of spawning and nursery areas and protection of the ecological function of key littoral habitats.  A small number of binational and geographically broad habitat needs that favor multiple species were also identified.  The identified habitat improvement actions are intended as recommendations to help align the work of funding organizations or those working directly on habitat improvements.  During this process we identified information needs and additional habitat improvement actions that can become ‘actionable’ in the near future.  An adaptive approach is envisioned to track progress, update priorities, and report on completed actions