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Currently there are approximately 1000 eggs from the
Bancroft s train of lake trout being incubated at the
Haliburton Hatchery until our facility is built.
Pictured right are the 1,000 fingerlings that started as
eggs collected from mature females in Ashby Lake in the
fall of 2006. It takes up to 6 years before a female
lake trout is old enough to lay eggs.
A dedicated fishery assessment team works each fall to
gather eggs over a 1 to 2 week time period. The team
consists of 1 or 2 crew chiefs and a number of
volunteers. Eggs are collected between midnight and 4:00
am from a chosen lake(s) during October. After hatching,
the fish spend one and one half years inside the
hatchery growing and finally reach release size in the
spring of the 2nd year.
 The
eggs are carefully transported from the donor lake to
the hatchery for rearing. The eggs are disinfected to
reduce the potential for illness, fertilized and left to
hatch in incubation trays. Hatching takes 1 to 2 months.
Once the fingerlings reach 2 inches in size, they begin
their journey toward becoming trout that will be
returned to local lakes in about 18 month’s time. Staff
at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and NHCFH
volunteers assess the lakes that require support and a
decision is made about which lake(s) to stock and how
many fish will be released into each body of water.
Lake trout spend the longest time indoors in the
hatchery of any local fish species. For example, walleye
spend 6 weeks in the hatchery and then are released into
outside ponds to complete growth to a suitable size for
stocking. It’s a spring egg collection for walleye and a
fall release into their permanent lake. The local
hatcheries, here in Bancroft and Haliburton are
attempting to rehabilitate suitable local lakes to
preserve the species for future generations to see, fish
and enjoy.
Our lakes in the Bancroft / Mazinaw area
are small deep bodies of water left over from the
glacier melt 10 to 20, 000 years ago. The lake trout
that live in these lakes are smaller bodied and have
unique genetic characteristics. These trout are some of
the most southern population of lake trout in North
America and they will be subject to the stresses of
climate warming. If the weather is warm, the lakes
freeze later and eggs hatch too soon. The newly hatched
fish require plankton to eat and that only becomes
available in the spring of the year. Whole hatches of
naturally produced lake trout eggs can be lost if the
hatch is too early and occurs in late January/February
before ice break-up.
Volunteers run the Hatchery
operation, feeding the fish, checking the equipment,
cleaning tanks and finally participating in the transfer
and release of the fish. It is a satisfying process for
the volunteers, who watch the fish from eggs to
juveniles ready for their permanent home in a local
lake. Other volunteers are active supporters who help
with raising funds that the operation needs to run.
We welcome and need volunteers to make this process a
success. If you want to be a volunteer, please click on
the “Opportunities” tab or join us in one of our fund
raising activities throughout the year. |
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