Shrigley Creek, Manitoulin Island ON
Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world. It contains 108 freshwater inland lakes, many of which feed into Lake Huron, making it an extremely important spawning and rearing area for salmon and trout. Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association is a grass-roots, not-for-profit organization focused on large-scale, community-based efforts to rehabilitate the aquatic ecosystems on Manitoulin Island.
Problem
Recent scientific studies have shown the Manitoulin Island streams have been damaged by a variety of land-use practices over the past century. When Clayton Smith approached Manitoulin Streams to help with their rehabilitation efforts, only 3 minnow species were found within Shrigley Creek.
Solution
Clayton Smith offered his support to Manitoulin Streams to restore and enhance the fishery along Shrigley Creek in 2019. Environmentally sensitive restoration work was performed throughout the creek in the hopes of reintroducing fish species to the area.
Success
Two years after our initial restoration work, we returned to the site to see how the fishery was doing. Two transects were completed and the results included 28 rainbow trout (82-151mm), 6 coho (500-660mm), 3 chub (50-75mm), and 3 central mud minnows (60-81mm). Redds were also observed and avoided; overall we are extremely encouraged to see that a lot of recruitment is taking place.
