Proposed Urban Recreational Fisheries Plan

[Leslie]

There is a proposal to prepare a plan by spring of 2014 to promote fishing along the Toronto waterfront.

The executive summary:
Ministry of Natural Resources, Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority, Credit Valley Conservation and Toronto and Region Conservation have initiated the preparation of an Urban Recreational Fisheries Plan along the Lake Ontario waterfront from the western border of the City of Mississauga extending to the eastern border of Durham Region.  The fisheries plan will integrate existing strategies, plans and analyses
conducted on the Lake Ontario waterfront.  The plan will incorporate the interests of various groups and recommend actions to resolve key issues raised by stakeholders.  The actions will focus on improving
urban recreational fishing opportunities through effective marketing, improving access to the fishing resources and promoting fisheries restoration where feasible.  The variety of interests in urban fishing
has existed for decades and we recognize that the participation and commitment from partners is fundamental to the development of the plan.

More details:
http://torontourbanfishing.com/wp-conte ... e-2013.pdf

(See also New Wetland Project @ Leslie Spit below)

At its July 11, 2012 meeting City Council requested staff to promote fishing but also to:
"Determine if there are any locations which are not suitable for shoreline fishing and take appropriate action."
For the full motion, see http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaI ... 12.EX21.33


Birders are presumably stakeholders in the Toronto & area waterfront.
So what do you think?

[Trillian Flummox]

YIKES!  Even the photo used at the top of the report is disturbing: a man fishing while standing on a beaver lodge right in front of a colony of diving waterbirds!!  The report shows a large number of staff from the MNR and the TRCA as "Project Team Members" - surely to goodness some of them will give a thought to the impact on birds and other wildlife??  Using the Spit as an example, fishing should be restricted to deep water - ideally a pier that would take fishermen out and away from the shorelines where they are less likely to snag their tackle.  

-kris