Montreal Lake Fishing Future Uncertain
Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 15:46
The future of commercial fishing on Montreal Lake appears uncertain.
Five years ago, the province imposed a moratorium on the lake in an effort to restock the wall-eye population.
That moratorium is due to expire sometime this year.
However neither the government nor local fishers will commit to re-opening the lake.
It was back in 1997 that some local residents took part in a fish study on Montreal Lake.
They began to count the number of wall-eye heading up Bittern River for a spawn run.
Noland Henderson was one of the people taking part in that study.
A worker for the Montreal Lake cree nation, Henderson says they counted 21,000 walleye in all.
However, a few years later he says that number had decreased by 90 per cent.
It was shortly after that a moratorium was imposed on commercial fishing and the quotas for anglers lowered.
Harold Johnson is a commercial fishermen on the Lake’s north-end.
He says it was the fishers themselves who called on the government to impose that ban.
Both men say they’re not sure whether the moratorium should be lifted or not.
Some of the reports they’ve heard from other residents is that there’s an excellent fish run this year, but it’s impossible to know exactly how the wall-eye population is doing.
Johnson also says he’s not sure he wants to open the lake up until the long-term future of the Fresh Water Fish Marketing Corporation is truly known.
He says if the FFMC isn’t around to take their fish then fishers will have to develop their own markets.
Meantime, Murray Koob of Saskatchewan Environment says more tests are needed to determine the strength of the wall-eye population.
Koob adds the government will be holding meetings with fishers this year before any decisions are made about the lake’s future.