Published: October 10, 2009 09:16 pm      

HILTS: Lower river salmon fishing needs help

One of the top salmon and trout fisheries in the northeast, if not the country, is the Lower Niagara River. The 10-mile stretch of water extending from the mighty Cataracts of Niagara to Lake Ontario is a fish magnet. And while certain aspects of the fishery continue to be outstanding, there is one aspect that could use some assistance — the fall salmon run.

This was a huge topic of discussion at the county’s Fisheries Development Board meeting late last month in an effort to get something going to help the lower river along. It’s no secret that fish numbers returning to the mighty river have been dwindling year after year, with the exception of a few years ago when tropical storm Ernesto caused Lake Erie to flip over Labor Day weekend, sending a large amount of cold water through the strait. That triggered a massive run of Pacific salmon, the likes of which the river has not seen in 20 years. But with no assistance from Mother Nature this year, the run returned to a modest run of its former self. Boats are struggling to catch three fish a day, unless more proficient anglers on board.

Catching fish isn’t everything and drifting in the Niagara Gorge is certainly a spectacular venue to host such an outdoor adventure. And if anglers like a place, they return to that favorite fishing hole time and time again to pay homage to Mother Nature and renew their connection with the great outdoors. Catching some fish is part of the experience, but not the only reason for visiting Western New York.

“The water clarity is near perfect, water temperatures have come down nicely, but we still don’t see the fish numbers that we should be seeing this time of year,” said Capt. Frank Campbell of Niagara Falls, chairman of the County’s Fish Board.

Capt. Bob Cinelli of Newfane, who also sits on the board, didn’t pull any punches. “If the Salmon River in Oswego County had this many poor salmon runs in the fall, the state would jump in and do something about it. We may have to take matters into our own hands.”

When you factor in another massive component — the new license fee increase — the combination of poor fishing with more of an expense for licenses could turn the tide when it comes to the Niagara River fishing experience. The state will not only have less money coming in to the Conservation Fund coffers, the local communities will be impacted through accommodations, restaurants, gas stations and charter fishing. The full effect has not been realized and the state is not looking at the big picture here.

One of the ways to improve your odds with stocking numbers is through the many pen rearing projects along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The Niagara River was actually one of the first pen rearing projects on the lake, but due to the nature of things like the ice boom and Lake Erie ice floes, water temperature is a factor that inhibits growth of the small fish. An early study revealed that pen reared salmon in the Niagara River did not do any better in returning to that stocking site than direct-stocked fish from the Salmon River.

Hold fish in pens until they smolt, imprinting those fish to the waters of the Niagara River, should be a positive action when it works properly. Holding fish in the pens to a larger size should also improve the survival rate of these fish. However, the cold water restricts the growth rate and they really aren’t any bigger than hatchery-reared fish intended to be stocked directly from Altmar.

Another consideration is the water that the salmon are imprinting to. Niagara River water is essentially water from Lake Erie. If you think about it, that’s basically the same water coming out of the Welland Canal and Port Dalhousie. It could be similar to any water that might find its way through the Lake Ontario feeder tributaries like 18 Mile Creek and the Oak Orchard River. How much of an influence does that have on fish meant for the Niagara River when their urges tell them to return home to spawn?

One idea Cinelli threw on the table was to use salmon meant for the Niagara River and develop a salmon pen project in Wilson. Currently there is only a project for steelhead in Wilson and they receive no salmon stockings at all. This portion of the river stocking allotment would utilize 12 Mile Creek’s excellent attributes for pen rearing — such as warmer water temperatures, perfect for rapid growth rate. “We don’t seem to be getting the imprinting in the Niagara River so why not make sure we’re getting better survival by growing them larger and healthier to accommodate the big picture,” said Cinelli. “Sure, there’s a chance they may return to another tributary, but let’s improve survival rates first.”

The example Cinelli used was the excellent pen rearing project for salmon out of Olcott, thanks to the Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Association. Curt Meddaugh of Pendleton, who heads up that project and sits on the Fish Board, too, was quick to agree with Cinelli. Currently, the Olcott project is the only one rearing salmon in Niagara County.

Another way to improve your fishing odd in the Niagara is to use fish stocked from the Caledonia Fish Hatchery south of Rochester. In previous years, when fish were stocked with Caledonia kings, the small stockers were bigger and healthier, thereby improving survival rates.

However, HVS disease arrived on the scene two years ago, all the salmon meant for Lake Ontario needed to come from the Salmon River Fish Hatchery, in an attempt to contain fish movement and expansion area of the disease. DEC said that they would hold off using Caledonia for two years until they’ve had a chance to look at the big picture regarding VHS. It’s time to look at using Caledonia again, if nothing more than to make sure all our eggs are not in one basket when it comes to Lake Ontario salmon stockings.

And speaking of alternate fish hatchery sites, let’s not rule out a small scale fish hatchery for the Niagara River, too. The county’s Fish Board continues to discuss that option each and every meeting, with the hopes that something will happen to make that dream a reality. There isn’t a better way to ensure fish returns to a river than by putting a hatchery there. Take a look at what the Salmon River Fish Hatchery does for that tributary!