Wild Lake Trout found in Lake Simcoe

Wild Lake Trout found in Lake Simcoe

Signs Show Coldwater Fish Making Tentative Comeback

SUTTON — “A small number of wild lake trout are surviving to adulthood in Lake Simcoe – a promising sign that the popular fish may be rebounding”, says Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay.



Wild trout have been virtually extinct in Lake Simcoe since the late 1980s because of excess phosphorus in the lake and loss of fish habitat. The Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy, a partnership involving three levels of
government, First Nations, the Lake Simcoe RegionConservation Authority and the public, has focused on reducing phosphorus in the lake to help restore habitat to support a self-sustaining community of coldwater fish.



Over the years, the Ministry of Natural Resources has stocked lake trout in Lake Simcoe to maintain a viable population while ecological conditions in the lake improve enough to support a self-sustaining population of lake trout. This has also helped maintain the significant economic and social benefits of a fishery that would otherwise have been lost in the region.