- Environmental Challenges
- Where We Are At
- Restrictions On Fish And Wildlife Consumption
- Degradation Of Fish And Wildlife Populations
- Fish Tumours And Other Deformities
- Degradation Of Benthos
- Restrictions On Dredging Activities
- Eutrophication And Undesirable Algae
- Restrictions On Drinking Water Or Taste And Odour Problems
- Beach Closures
- Degradation Of Aesthetics
- Degradation Of Phytoplankton And Zooplankton Populations
- Loss Of Fish And Wildlife Habitat
BUI #1 - Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption
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Although fish and wildlife consumption is currently impaired. Fish in the Bay of Quinte are safe to eat. When the bay is compared overall to other Lake Ontario reference sites, there are fewer restrictions on fish consumption in the Bay.
All of the fishing zones in the Bay of Quinte are meeting or exceeding the reference levels with one exception. The Trent River mouth and only larger size bullheads are not meeting maximum consumption guidelines of eight meals per month. The current consumption advisory is four meals per month. The fish are safe to eat at this advisory level.
In order to re-designate the BUI, the consumption levels in all Bay of Quinte fish need to be at the same levels as the reference sites.
Specific consumption levels can be found in the Guide to Eating Ontario Fish published by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Today, the Bay of Quinte supports a world-class walleye and bass fishery providing this region with numerous economic benefits.
Each BUI has specific criteria that must be met before its status can be changed to unimpaired.
1. Fish consumption restrictions in the upper and middle bays are comparable to the least restrictive of Lake Ontario reference zones 6 and 8 as defined in the Guide to Eating Ontario Sport fish – Not Impaired
2. When contaminant levels in brown bullhead and yellow perch (or a similar sentinel species) collected in the Trent River mouth and at the Belleville waterfront near established sources of contamination result in the same consumption limits as the general population for these fish in the upper bay. Impaired – Not met at the Trent River mouth.
Tracking Walleye with Acoustic Transmitters
The Queen’s University Freshwater Fisheries Conservation Lab has been working with the Lake Ontario Management Unit (MNRF) to tag Walleye with acoustic transmitter to track their movement in the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. Click on the image below to see the 2018 movement of walleye.
Image from the Tufts Lab Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/fisheriesqu