One of These Things is not Like the Others –
Prevalence of Non-target Species in Commercial Baitfish in Ontario
Jeff Brinsmead1, Brenda Koenig1, David Copplestone1, D. Andrew R. Drake2, Nicholas
Mandrak2, Shelley Arnott3, David Marcogliese4 and Christoper Jerde5
1
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 2 Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 3Queen’s University
4
Environment Canada, 5University of Notre Dame
National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Congress
Ottawa, Ontario, May 29, 2012
The Bait Industry in Ontario
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use of live bait is part of Ontario’s fishing heritage
long industry history – commercial licences since ~1925
2011 commercial bait licences:
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harvesters ~ 530
dealers ~ 630
primarily wild caught bait
Ontario’s recreational fishery: ~ 1.3M anglers, >$2.5B
fisheries-related expenditures
retail value of bait circa 2005 = ~ $23M
2005 recreational angler survey: 2nd most popular
bait/tackle used was live baitfish (54% of anglers)
~ 4.12 million angling events per year using live bait
North American Recreational Live Baitfish Use and Transport
Jurisdictional Scan Summary
•only southern US states allow
unrestricted use of live bait
•most jurisdictions in Great Lakes
basin have controls
•many Canadian jurisdictions have
banned live bait use
Live baitfish use prohibited
Prohibited with regional exceptions
Import prohibited and may not be
transported between waterbodies
May not be transported between
waterbodies
Import prohibited (VHSv non-susceptible
fish species may be exempt)
Live baitfish use allowed (May include
species and/or waterbody specific
restrictions)
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Jurisdiction has exceptions to the general restrictions
that apply (South Dakota and Tennessee)
Review of Bait Use and Management
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announced Dec 2011, at same time as
implementation of Lake Simcoe Management
Zone (LSMZ)
LSMZ (and management actions associated with
it) is an interim approach to slow the spread of
VHS and invasive species
the MNR will be consulting with key stakeholders
and the public on longer-term strategies to
maintain a healthy fishery and an economically
and ecologically viable bait industry
Risk of AIS Spread: Movement of Live Bait
AIS in bait is essentially a by-catch issue
may be spread through:
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illegal dumping of bait buckets
accidental release
escape from in-water live holding boxes
‘fellow travellers’
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transport water
on equipment
on or in fish
use of live bait suspected in numerous range
expansions and/or introductions
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What has been done to mitigate risk re AIS?
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use of regulatory and awareness approaches
• Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007
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partnership with Ontario Federation of Anglers and
Hunters/OMNR
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lists 48 fish species that may be used live as bait
cannot release bait, baitfish or the contents of a bait
bucket within 30 m of any waters
promote public awareness, prevent spread of invasive
species
focus on pathways, track/monitor spread of AIS in Ontario
HACCP Plans for Commercial Bait Operators
(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point)
•(MNR)-approved
HACCP plan is required before
any commercial bait licence will be issued
•due to complexity of operations, bait harvesters
additionally must take mandatory training
•HAACP plans set out best management
practices to mitigate risk of spreading invasive
species
Year
Harvesters
Courses
Harvesters
Trained
2004 (Voluntary)
6
30
2006
6
122
2007
14
184
794
2008
16 + 3
180
As required
2009
15
247
As required
2010-11
9
32
As required
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Dealers (selflearning)
Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan
Monitoring the Effectiveness of HACCP
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2009 - some preliminary
assessment done in Lake
Simcoe area, focused on
tanks and holding cribs
23 inspections completed (3
major, 10 minor HACCP
plan violations; 10 in full
compliance)
not a viable way of
assessing how well best
management practices and
other mechanisms are
working
What about Dr. Drake’s work?
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2007-2008, sampled ‘angler’ purchases and retail
tanks
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Probability of occurrence & abundance of target and non-target
fishes
48 stores in summer/fall and/or winter fishing seasons
most purchases and tanks contained only target
baitfishes
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non-target fishes (including AIS & SAR) – low probability of
occurrence and abundance
even at low probability presents a risk when considering 4.12
million angling events/year using live bait
What are we doing?
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coat-tails approach – sample 30 retail stores
• ‘angler’ purchases – 10 dozen minnows
Primary Question – has frequency of
occurrence, and relative abundance, of nontarget species in angler purchases changed
since 2007/08?
Objectives:
• determine if non-target species are sold to anglers with commercial
baitfish
• compare frequency of occurrence in angler purchases between time
periods
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use of eDNA to detect species that are in or were in tanks
• collect baseline data on:
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aquatic invasive invertebrates/plants found in water purchased with commercial baitfish
presence of Asian fish tapeworm (Bothriocephalus acheilognathi) in commercial baitfish
Preliminary Results
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Summer/Fall 2011 Sampling
$120.00
700
$118
Cost of Bait
Number of fish purchased
>120 baitfish
600
$100.00
500
400
$60.00
$9
300
$40.00
200
$20.00
100
$0.00
0
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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11 12 13
14 15 16
bait shop
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17 18 19
20 21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28 29
Number of fish
Cost (Canadian)
$80.00
Target vs Non-target Fish
2007/08 (from Drake, 2011)
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of 16,886 fishes purchased, 15 nontargets (0.089%)
of 66 purchase events, 9 contained
one or more non-targets (13.6%)
2011/12 (Current work)
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of 14,970 fishes purchased, 34 nontargets (0.23%)
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higher # of non-targets driven by one purchase
with 22 non-targets (all Brook Silversides) of 521
fishes purchased
without including this purchase event – Of 14,449
fishes purchased, 12 non-targets (probability =
0.083%)
of 58 purchase events, 8 contained
one or more non-targets (13.8%)
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Non-Target Species Purchased
2007/08
2011/12
Rainbow Smelt (4)
Brook Silverside (22)
Banded Killifish (2)
Common Carp (3)
Rock Bass (2)
Banded Killifish (2)
Brook Silverside (1)
Greenside Darter (2)
Coho Salmon (1)
Pumpkinseed (2)
Gizzard Shad (1)
Smallmouth Bass (2)
Pumpkinseed (1)
Black Bullhead (1)
River Redhorse (1)*
Round Goby (1)
Smallmouth Bass (1)
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* Species of Special Concern under ESA & SARA
To compare….
Hornyhead chub
Sample A
Sample B
Emerald shiner
Abundance = 56
baitfishes
Abundance = 521
baitfishes
Number of
species = 7
Number of
species = 2
Number nontargets = 2
Number of nontargets = 22
Number of nontarget species = 2
Number of nontarget species = 1
White sucker
Smallmouth bass
Greenside darter
15
Brook silverside
Images from: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Fellow Travellers (Summer/Fall 2011)
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30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Plant remains
Algae
Protozoans
Rotifers
Bryozoans
Nematodes
Oligochaetes
Taxon group detected
35
30
percentage of stores
percentage of stores
35
25
20
15
10
5
16
0
0
1
2
3
Number of taxon groups detected
4
5
Microcrustaceans
Insects remains
Conclusions
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current results are consistent with Drake (2011)
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Non-targets occur in very low abundances, with low
purchase prevalence
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most harvesters/retailers doing good job of
selective fishing/sorting (i.e. 99.91% of individuals
purchased are targets)
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low-likelihood activities may contribute to
species introductions due to 4.12 million live
baitfish events per year
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larger lakes near large angling populations most
at-risk
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high spread potential due to mobility of anglers
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Acknowledgements
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Jeff Brinsmead, David Copplestone, Donna
Wales, Lauretta Dunford, Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources
Matt Smith, Fraser Smith, Sophie Bull, Alison
Kirkpatrick, Robert McGowan, Ontario
Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Andrew Drake, Nicholas Mandrak, Mike Parna,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Chris Jerde, University of Notre Dame
Shelley Arnott, Queen’s University
David Marcogliese, Environment Canada