Don Foreman
11-27-1999, 06:04 PM
Border Waters Fisheries in Northwestern Ontario
Ontario's border waters of Lake of the Woods, Rainy River and Rainy Lake in northwestern
Ontario are popular with resident and non-resident anglers. The border waters have many
different fish populations, including discrete populations of walleye and sauger that spawn in
Ontario waters and are Ontario resources.
A great deal of the fishing pressure in Ontario's border waters has come from anglers in
Minnesota, "day-trippers" who travel into Ontario, fish and return home, and anglers who stay in
resorts based in Minnesota and fish in Ontario. MNR has brought in new conservation measures
to address harvest by Minnesota anglers and resolve a current trade challenge.
New Regulation to Conserve the Border Waters Fisheries
The new regulation controls fishing for walleye, sauger and lake trout by anglers who are
non-residents of Canada. Under this regulation, all non-resident anglers are treated in the same
manner, whether they stay overnight in Ontario or fish from Minnesota. The regulation sets a new
daily limit for anglers who are non-residents of Canada that is significantly lower than the daily limit
for residents. For example, the following are new non-resident limits for walleye, sauger and lake
trout associated with a regular licence:
Lake of the Woods and waters of MNR's Fort Frances District (except for
Rainy Lake and a portion of the Seine River system)
Daily limit of two walleye or sauger and a possession limit of four walleye or
sauger
Daily limit of one lake trout, possession limit of two lake trout (excluding Lake
of the Woods, where established daily and possession limits remain
unchanged.)
Rainy Lake and a portion of the Seine River system
Daily limit of one walleye or sauger and possession limit of four walleye or
sauger
In implementing this conservation program, MNR has removed a requirement that non-resident
anglers must stay overnight in the border waters areas of northwestern Ontario in order to keep
walleye and sauger. The ministry has also removed the need for the Border Water Conservation
Tag, a conservation mechanism introduced several years ago that is no longer needed.
Properly licensed non-Canadian anglers may also fish for normal limits of other species for the
type of licence they hold. Walleye/sauger possession limits for non-Canadian and Canadian
anglers holding regular licences are standardized at four.
Although this new regulation is not expected to increase total harvest levels of walleye and sauger
by non-resident anglers, Ontario will continue to carefully monitor the stocks to ensure their
long-term health.
Concerns about Trade versus Conservation:
In March 1999, the United States informed Canada that it was pursuing a trade investigation of a
requirement Ontario put in place in January 1998 that non-residents must stay overnight in the
province in order to keep walleye and sauger. The investigation is on behalf of a coalition of
groups in Minnesota, including tourist operators from the Northwest Angle in the state.
The U.S. has contended that Ontario's requirement of an overnight stay violates the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Trade and Services
(GATS). The US trade challenge asserts that U.S. tourism operators' business has been damaged
by the overnight stay requirement.
The U.S. has demanded open and unfettered access to Ontario border waters. The U.S. has
steadfastly refused to address Ontario's conservation concerns. To eliminate the threat posed by
the trade challenge, and return the focus to the essential issue of conservation, Ontario has a new
regulatory approach that removes the requirement for an overnight stay and that sets limits for
non-residents that are lower than limits for residents. This allows strictly controlled access to
Ontario waters.
In developing the new measures, MNR worked closely with the Conservation Coalition for
Ontario's Resources to find a workable alternative to Ontario's previous conservation regulations
for the border waters. The coalition is comprised of representatives from the Ontario Federation
of Anglers and Hunters, the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association, the Kenora District
Campowners Association, and the North Western Ontario Tourism Association.
With the trade issue resolved, Ontario has demanded dialogue with Minnesota to discuss other
important issues, such as conservation, enforcement and implementing a Minnesota commitment to
reduce its 14 walleye catch limit on its side of Lake of the Woods.
History of Ontario's Conservation Efforts
For more than 25 years, Ontario has taken steps to conserve walleye and sauger populations in
the border waters that are threatened by overharvest.
In 1993, Ontario agreed to involve public representatives from Minnesota in a consultation
process to find a solution to the excessive harvest on Ontario walleye by anglers based in
Minnesota. The process produced unanimous recommendations for changes that would reduce
harvest. Ontario accepted the recommendations; Minnesota did not. On Lake of the Woods, the
harvest of Ontario walleye and sauger by Minnesota-based anglers doubled from 1994 to 1998.
In 1998, Ontario brought in a fishing regulation for Lake of the Woods and Rainy River to reduce
the harvest of walleye and sauger by Minnesota-based anglers as a conservation measure to
control this increasing harvest by Minnesota anglers.
The 1998 regulation, now removed, applied to non-Canadian anglers who did not stay overnight
in Ontario and permitted them to fish on the Ontario side of the border waters on a catch and
release basis only for walleye and sauger. They could not keep any of these two species.
Ontario has restricted harvest by its own users for some time. MNR continues to reduce
commercial fishing of walleye through government buy-outs or trades for quota of other species.
To date, MNR has reduced commercial walleye quotas by 60 per cent on Lake of the Woods,
and has virtually eliminated them on Rainy Lake.
Ontario has established sanctuaries and maximum size limits, promoted catch-and-release
programs and alternative species, and protected fish habitat.
Unlike Minnesota, Ontario has restricted the accommodation capacity of its tourism industry to
keep it in line with sustainable use of the fisheries.
Ontario's border waters of Lake of the Woods, Rainy River and Rainy Lake in northwestern
Ontario are popular with resident and non-resident anglers. The border waters have many
different fish populations, including discrete populations of walleye and sauger that spawn in
Ontario waters and are Ontario resources.
A great deal of the fishing pressure in Ontario's border waters has come from anglers in
Minnesota, "day-trippers" who travel into Ontario, fish and return home, and anglers who stay in
resorts based in Minnesota and fish in Ontario. MNR has brought in new conservation measures
to address harvest by Minnesota anglers and resolve a current trade challenge.
New Regulation to Conserve the Border Waters Fisheries
The new regulation controls fishing for walleye, sauger and lake trout by anglers who are
non-residents of Canada. Under this regulation, all non-resident anglers are treated in the same
manner, whether they stay overnight in Ontario or fish from Minnesota. The regulation sets a new
daily limit for anglers who are non-residents of Canada that is significantly lower than the daily limit
for residents. For example, the following are new non-resident limits for walleye, sauger and lake
trout associated with a regular licence:
Lake of the Woods and waters of MNR's Fort Frances District (except for
Rainy Lake and a portion of the Seine River system)
Daily limit of two walleye or sauger and a possession limit of four walleye or
sauger
Daily limit of one lake trout, possession limit of two lake trout (excluding Lake
of the Woods, where established daily and possession limits remain
unchanged.)
Rainy Lake and a portion of the Seine River system
Daily limit of one walleye or sauger and possession limit of four walleye or
sauger
In implementing this conservation program, MNR has removed a requirement that non-resident
anglers must stay overnight in the border waters areas of northwestern Ontario in order to keep
walleye and sauger. The ministry has also removed the need for the Border Water Conservation
Tag, a conservation mechanism introduced several years ago that is no longer needed.
Properly licensed non-Canadian anglers may also fish for normal limits of other species for the
type of licence they hold. Walleye/sauger possession limits for non-Canadian and Canadian
anglers holding regular licences are standardized at four.
Although this new regulation is not expected to increase total harvest levels of walleye and sauger
by non-resident anglers, Ontario will continue to carefully monitor the stocks to ensure their
long-term health.
Concerns about Trade versus Conservation:
In March 1999, the United States informed Canada that it was pursuing a trade investigation of a
requirement Ontario put in place in January 1998 that non-residents must stay overnight in the
province in order to keep walleye and sauger. The investigation is on behalf of a coalition of
groups in Minnesota, including tourist operators from the Northwest Angle in the state.
The U.S. has contended that Ontario's requirement of an overnight stay violates the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Trade and Services
(GATS). The US trade challenge asserts that U.S. tourism operators' business has been damaged
by the overnight stay requirement.
The U.S. has demanded open and unfettered access to Ontario border waters. The U.S. has
steadfastly refused to address Ontario's conservation concerns. To eliminate the threat posed by
the trade challenge, and return the focus to the essential issue of conservation, Ontario has a new
regulatory approach that removes the requirement for an overnight stay and that sets limits for
non-residents that are lower than limits for residents. This allows strictly controlled access to
Ontario waters.
In developing the new measures, MNR worked closely with the Conservation Coalition for
Ontario's Resources to find a workable alternative to Ontario's previous conservation regulations
for the border waters. The coalition is comprised of representatives from the Ontario Federation
of Anglers and Hunters, the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association, the Kenora District
Campowners Association, and the North Western Ontario Tourism Association.
With the trade issue resolved, Ontario has demanded dialogue with Minnesota to discuss other
important issues, such as conservation, enforcement and implementing a Minnesota commitment to
reduce its 14 walleye catch limit on its side of Lake of the Woods.
History of Ontario's Conservation Efforts
For more than 25 years, Ontario has taken steps to conserve walleye and sauger populations in
the border waters that are threatened by overharvest.
In 1993, Ontario agreed to involve public representatives from Minnesota in a consultation
process to find a solution to the excessive harvest on Ontario walleye by anglers based in
Minnesota. The process produced unanimous recommendations for changes that would reduce
harvest. Ontario accepted the recommendations; Minnesota did not. On Lake of the Woods, the
harvest of Ontario walleye and sauger by Minnesota-based anglers doubled from 1994 to 1998.
In 1998, Ontario brought in a fishing regulation for Lake of the Woods and Rainy River to reduce
the harvest of walleye and sauger by Minnesota-based anglers as a conservation measure to
control this increasing harvest by Minnesota anglers.
The 1998 regulation, now removed, applied to non-Canadian anglers who did not stay overnight
in Ontario and permitted them to fish on the Ontario side of the border waters on a catch and
release basis only for walleye and sauger. They could not keep any of these two species.
Ontario has restricted harvest by its own users for some time. MNR continues to reduce
commercial fishing of walleye through government buy-outs or trades for quota of other species.
To date, MNR has reduced commercial walleye quotas by 60 per cent on Lake of the Woods,
and has virtually eliminated them on Rainy Lake.
Ontario has established sanctuaries and maximum size limits, promoted catch-and-release
programs and alternative species, and protected fish habitat.
Unlike Minnesota, Ontario has restricted the accommodation capacity of its tourism industry to
keep it in line with sustainable use of the fisheries.