Verifying Identification of Salmon and Trout by Boat Anglers in Lake Ontario

Abstract

We estimated how well anglers with varying levels of fishing experience identified six salmonid species during creel surveys of the boat angler fishery in Canadian waters of Lake Ontario (1995 and 1996). Anglers were asked to identify the species of their harvested salmon and trout. Angler identifications were compared with identifications made by creel survey technicians. In total, 583 noncharter anglers and 92 charter boat captains identified 1,098 and 271 fish, respectively. Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, rainbow trout O. mykiss, and lake trout Salvelinus namaycush dominated the observations. The greatest accuracy in identification by noncharter anglers was for lake trout (96%), followed by Chinook salmon (93%), rainbow trout (88%), brown trout Salmo trutta (85%), Atlantic salmon Salmo salar (67%), and coho salmon O. kisutch (60%). Identifications by charter captains were closer to identifications made by the creel survey technicians: accuracy for coho salmon and rainbow trout was 100%, followed by Chinook salmon (97%), lake trout (96%), and brown trout (86%). Noncharter anglers with over 8 years of salmonid angling experience on Lake Ontario identified coho salmon more accurately (79%) than anglers with fewer years of experience (18%). Noncharter anglers’ fishing experience had no relationship with identification accuracy for species other than coho salmon; angling experience among charter captains had no effect on identification accuracy for any species. Among Chinook salmon, accurately identified individuals were significantly larger than misidentified fish. Size probably plays a role in identification of Chinook salmon as they are the largest salmonids in the fishery. Accurate identification of salmonids in Lake Ontario allows Ontario fisheries biologists to use catch rates with confidence, and these results may be applicable on a widespread basis throughout the Great Lakes.

Received April 7, 2010; accepted January 1, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Mike Rawson for providing assistance with the field surveys. Comments from Brent Metcalfe, Bruce Morrison, Tom Stewart, and three anonymous reviewers made significant improvements to this paper.