DEC Fisheries 2023 Year in Review

Here is a list of highlights and noteworthy items from the past year here in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Fisheries.

• Cornell Biological Field Station staff caught 13 untagged young lake sturgeon in Oneida Lake during their routine surveys, the most wild sturgeon they’ve ever captured in one field season. Aging of fin rays from untagged sturgeon indicates wild fish have been documented from every year-class since 2011. This is a promising sign for natural sturgeon reproduction in the lake.

• Michelle Poprawski, Manager at our Catskill Fish Hatchery, was selected as one of Hatchery International‘s Top 10 Under 40. This award recognizes aquaculture professionals from across the globe that are making an impact in their field of work. To learn how she received this recognition, check out the article.

• Fish Hatchery Improvements – a rearing building for cisco (lake herring) at Bath Fish Hatchery will be complete with anticipated production beginning this winter, Salmon River Hatchery observation platforms were completed, a new pond was poured at Caledonia Fish Hatchery for additional rearing space.

• In September, Long Island’s I FISH NY Program joined eight residents from All American Assisted Living at Upper Lake in Yaphank, Suffolk County, for a day of fun and fishing. They learned about common freshwater fish on Long Island and the basics of fishing, then got the opportunity to try fishing. Most were successful in catching a few sunfish and largemouth bass. You can watch a short video on the program here.

• DEC in collaboration with USFWS, Tioga County SWCD, Trout Unlimited, and Tioga County Anglers Association, completed a habitat improvement on the West Branch of Owego Creek, at the DEC Fishing Access Site south of Route 79 (on West Creek Road) in the Town of Richford. Two aging and dilapidated wooden crib pool digger structures were removed and replaced with large stone cross vanes, eliminating streambank erosional issues associated with the old structures, improving angler access and wading safety, and ensuring excellent fish holding pool habitat in the stretch of stream. Fishing opportunities in this area include both stocked and holdover brown trout and numerous wild brown and brook trout. The site will be further enhanced with riparian tree plantings in spring of 2024. Funding for this project was provided by NYS Habitat Stamp funds and Trout Unlimited.

• Video Release- Lake Sturgeon, Saving a Great Lakes Dinosaur – Check out this video with staff from DEC and US Fish and Wildlife Service during the annual egg collection on the St. Lawrence River and learn firsthand what it takes to produce the thousands of lake sturgeon stocked each fall.

• This past spring, over 320 lake trout were captured throughout the lake and tagged with acoustic transmitters to track their movements and pinpoint spawning locations in the fall. To quantify current habitat quality, biologists are also using video to map bottom habitat at thousands of potential spawning locations across the lake. Watch the sample video (6 MB) (wait for the lucky shot at the end).

• Learning about lake trout spawning – DEC biologists are working on a multi-agency collaborative study to identify lake trout spawning areas, as well as quantify the quality and quantity of their spawning habitat in Lake Ontario. Lake trout are native to Lake Ontario and populations were decimated by habitat loss, invasive sea lamprey, overfishing, and reproductive impairment. Wild reproduction of lake trout is currently very low, and DEC and its partners are conducting research to understand the factors leading to low reproduction.

• First-ever walleye telemetry study on Oneida Lake – a 3-year telemetry study of adult walleyes in Oneida Lake kicked off this past Fall. Sixty-four acoustic receivers have been spaced throughout the lake and select tributaries to track the movement of 200 adult walleyes surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters to learn more about where they spawn, seasonal movement patterns, and more. The first data from receivers will be downloaded next summer.

• The Bureau of Fisheries upgraded it’s fleet of electrofishing boats by purchasing 10 new boats this past year. These new boats were needed to replace a number of aging boats that are no longer functional or in need of major repairs. Electrofishing boats are necessary for monitoring sportfish populations, fish communities, and invasive fish species in nearshore habitats.

• Understanding how and why anglers use fisheries is vital for effective management, and one mechanism to get this information is through direct contact creel surveys. This past year, DEC staff conducted creel surveys on a number of high-use fisheries, including Lake George, Cayuga Lake, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain, and Oneida Lake. They will be sharing the results from these surveys this spring.

Photo of DEC Fisheries staff at work provided.