The 2026 Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary is now available! Digital copies can be viewed online or as a PDF download.
An annual guide to the rules and regulations for recreational fishing in Ontario. It contains information about recreational fishing licences, open seasons and catch limits, as well as up-to-date fishing regulations for each fishing zone. Effective January 1, 2026.
Learn more at fishing notices and updates.
The October 2025 Mainstream Newsletter (Volume 41, Issue 1) is now available from the North Central Division website.
The winner of the Al Dextrase Award for Best Student Poster Presentation at the 2025 AFS-OC Annual Meeting was Jacob Lasci from University of Western Ontario. Jacob (right) received his award from Ontario Chapter President Silviya Ivanova (left) and Vice President Connor Reid (middle). His poster was titled “Effects of introduced salmonids on native Lake Trout in Lake Huron” and the abstract is available in the 2025 Joint OCTWS AFS-OC Conference Program.
The recipient of the E.J. Crossman Award for Best Student Oral Presentation at the 2025 AFS-OC Annual Meeting was Raegan Davis from Carleton University. Raegan (middle) received her award from Ontario Chapter President Silviya Ivanova (right) and Vice President Connor Reid (left). Her presentation was titled “Dam it, I’m stranded: Evaluating fish stranding downstream of a hydropeaking facility on the Michipicoten River, ON” and the abstract is available in the 2025 Joint OCTWS AFS-OC Conference Program.
A synopsis of the 2024 AFS-OC Annual Meeting and Conference held January 26–28 at Bayview Wildwood Resort, in Severn Bridge has been posted. See photos, poster presentations and review highlights of the event.
HIGHLIGHTS:
2025 AFS-OC AGM & Conference Summary – Silviya Ivanova
Student Subunit Update
AFS-OC Comment on Proposed Changes to ESA
Invasive Crayfish, Old and New – Sam Turner
The Fish Life List: Obvious or Obscure? – Sarah Steele
From the Lab – Jacob Lasci
Fish Focus – Rainbow Smelt – Siobhan Ewert
Book Review – Ignition: Lighting Fires in a Burning World. By M.R. O’Connor, and The Summer Canada Burned: the Wildfire Season that Shocked the World. By Monica Zurowski and Postmedia – Ross Claytor
2025 AFS-OC AGM Sponsors
AUTHOR(S): Donald A. Jackson and Nicholas E. Mandrak
CITATION: Jackson, D.A. and N.E. Mandrak. 2025. Plight of the endangered Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus) in Canada: end of the road?. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2024-0391
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) has released a new Offsetting Policy and Cumulative Effects Position Statement. The Policy for Applying Measures to Offset Harmful Impacts to Fish and Fish Habitat and the Position Statement on the Consideration of Cumulative Effects in Support of Decision Making on Fisheries Act Authorizations Concerning Fish and Fish Habitat Protection are now available on DFO’s Projects Near Water website. These documents contribute to FFHPP’s efforts to conserve, protect and restore fish and fish habitat for future generations in a way that respects Indigenous rights and supports sustainable development. Both documents provide additional clarity for partners and project proponents.
The Offsetting Policy provides direction on undertaking effective measures to offset death of fish and the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, consistent with the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act. FAQs and a summary of key changes between the 2025 and the 2019 versions of the Offsetting Policy are also available, as well as our 3-page tip sheet Project planning: What is offsetting and how to prepare an offsetting plan. We will be issuing further guidance to support the Offsetting Policy later in 2025, specifically the guidelines for establishing and managing fish habitat banks, guidelines for the development of an offsetting plan, and policy guidance related to the program’s Risk Management Framework and when avoidance, mitigation and offsetting measures are applied.
The Cumulative Effects Position Statement is designed to provide further clarity on the department’s approach to the application of the relevant fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act during the project authorization decision-making process. It supports decision makers as they consider the cumulative effects of a project, in combination with all other relevant stressors on fish and fish habitat. FAQs on the Position Statement are also available.
Ecopa Environmental provides training programs (including backpack electrofishing certification) designed to give industry professionals, government agencies, First Nations, academic institutions, community partners, and students hands-on experience and expertise in natural resource management See current Natural Resources Training opportunities.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) has released its Risk Management Framework Overview on the Talk Fish Habitat website.
This overview:
This overview document will also be posted on DFO’s Projects Near Water website.
