Fish monitoring—you can participate
This progress report describes recent findings of the County's comprehensive fish community monitoring program (July 2007).
Each year, the Onondaga County Department of Water
Environment Protection (WEP) monitors Onondaga Lake to
measure how the lake is changing as pollution levels
decline. The 2006 WEP Ambient Monitoring Program (AMP)
represents the thirty-seventh consecutive year of
Onondaga County's lake monitoring effort. The County
monitoring program measures physical, chemical, and
biological conditions and compares the results to
state and federal standards. By law, all waters are to
support recreational use and a balanced biological
community. This national requirement is often referred
to as ensuring that all waters are "fishable and
swimmable."
In 1998, the County's historical water quality
monitoring program was modified and expanded to
include biological components. Results of the
monitoring program are used to evaluate how the lake
is changing in response to clean-up efforts. Onondaga
County's monitoring program is designed to help answer
two important questions:
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Does Onondaga Lake support recreational uses?
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Does Onondaga Lake support a balanced community of plants and animals?
You can help WEP in its efforts to assess the success
of Onondaga Lake as a popular catch-and-release fishery.
If you fish the lake, Seneca River, or Oneida River
frequently, you could participate in the Angler Diary
Program. The program requires careful
recordkeeping of time spent fishing, numbers and
species caught, fish kept, and area fished.
- Request an Angler Diary.
- Submit your Angler Diary tallies online.
- Follow your fish—data on tagging and recapture.
The County's biological monitoring program tracks a
number of plant and animal communities in the lake
ecosystem. The monitoring program measures the number
and types of fish, aquatic plants, macroinvertebrates,
phytoplankton (algae), zooplankton, and zebra mussels.
Results of the biological monitoring program are very
encouraging; the lake now supports a diverse and
productive biological community. Fish are quite
abundant, and angling is becoming increasingly
popular. Onondaga Lake is beginning to resemble other
lakes of its size in the area with respect to the
number of fish species, plant abundance, and
summertime water clarity.
Q: How many and what kinds of fish are in Onondaga Lake?
A:
Popular belief is that Onondaga Lake's legacy of
pollution has left the lake a biological wasteland.
This couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, the
County's monitoring program has captured forty-four different
fish species since 2000. When combining the County
species list with that of other recent studies,
sixty-four fish species have been identified in the lake in
recent years. See table.
| Fish species documented present in Onondaga Lake (2000-2006) |
|
Abundant
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Common
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Uncommon
|
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alewife, banded killifish, bluegill
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black crappie, bluntnose minnow ,bowfin
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black bullhead, brown trout, goldfish
|
|
brown bullhead, carp, channel catfish
|
brook silverside, brook stickleback, emerald shiner
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greater redhorse, johnny darter, lake sturgeon
|
|
gizzard shad, golden shiner, largemouth bass
|
fathead minnow, freshwater drum, longnose gar
|
longnose dace, northern hogsucker, quillback
|
|
pumpkinseed, shorthead redhorse, smallmouth bass
|
logperch, northern pike, rock bass
|
rainbow trout, rudd, trout perch
|
|
white perch, white sucker, yellow perch
|
tessellated darter, tiger musky, walleye
|
white bass, yellow bullhead
|
|
Source: WEP files.
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One reason for this abundance of fish is the
interconnections between Onondaga Lake and other
regional waterways. Onondaga Lake is an open system,
meaning that it is connected to other streams, rivers,
and lakes with no barriers to fish passage. Ninemile
Creek connects Otisco Lake to Onondaga Lake. The lake
outlet flows north into the Seneca River. Many fish
likely enter the lake from the river and tributaries.
For example, lake sturgeon stocked in Oneida Lake have
made their way to Onondaga Lake through the river
system. Tiger musky stocked in Otisco Lake and brown
trout stocked in streams connected to Onondaga Lake
have swum downstream and been caught in Onondaga Lake.
Q: Are the fish safe to eat?
A:
Because of a history of mercury pollution, fish in
Onondaga Lake have had elevated levels of mercury for
many years. The NYS Department of Health has issued a
health advisory to eat no more than one meal per month
of any species caught in Onondaga Lake, to eat no
largemouth or smallmouth bass over 15 inches, and to
eat no walleye of any size.
Q: What kind of fishery does the Lake currently support?
A:
Onondaga Lake currently supports a very productive
warm water fishery. Anglers, both recreational and
professional, from across the region enjoy the lake's
excellent largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing.
Numerous bass tournaments are held on the lake every
year.
In July 2007, Onondaga Lake was the venue to a major
Bass Anglers Sportsman's Society (BASS) bass fishing
tournament that received national coverage on ESPN.
Shore anglers catch combinations of bass, sunfish,
white perch, carp, bullhead, and catfish.
The lake also supports some popular cool water
species such as walleye and yellow perch, but they
tend not to be as abundant as the warm water species.
Some cold water species, such as brown trout, are
also caught during the colder part of the year.
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Figure 1. Angler catch rates of largemouth bass
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Q: Has fishing success improved?
A:
WEP surveys anglers fishing on Onondaga Lake, the
Seneca River, and Oneida River through the use of an Angler
Diary Program. The diaries monitor angler catch rates for all
species, but focus on the popular bass fishery. The catch
rates in Onondaga Lake and the river system have been
variable (Figure 1). Fishing success in Onondaga Lake is
typically comparable to, or slightly better than, fishing
success in other regional waters, including Oneida Lake.
The summer of 2006 was particularly good for Onondaga
Lake anglers, with a catch rate of about one bass per
hour—almost double the rate reported by Seneca River
anglers. The most notable change evident from the
diary program has been the dramatic increase in angler
catch rates in the Oneida River. This increase
probably reflects natural variability in fish
populations and angler catch rates—not effects of the
lake clean-up program.
Q: If I catch a fish with a tag, what should I do?
A:
As part of its ongoing monitoring, WEP tags fish in
Onondaga Lake with a yellow "spaghetti tag" below the
dorsal fin (fin on the fish's back). The information
gathered from these tags, such as how far the fish
moved and how much it has grown since it was tagged,
is important in helping managers understand the fish
community. So far, it is clear that growth rates of
the Onondaga Lake fish community are comparable to, or
even higher than, growth rates seen in other New York lakes.
Also, few fish migrate far from the lake.
Anyone catching a tagged fish should record the tag
number, the length, weight, and location caught, and
report this information to WEP (315-435-2260 x360).
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Figure 2. Increase in area of Onondaga Lake covered by aquatic plants since 2000 (no data for 2004)
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Q: I've noticed a lot of aquatic plant growth in the Lake lately. Is this good for the Lake?
A:
You're right. The amount of aquatic plants in the lake
has increased dramatically in recent years. Aquatic
plants are greatly expanding as water quality
improves, although there is natural variability from
year to year as is common in regional lakes (Figure
2).
As long as plant growth doesn't get out of control,
this is a very good thing for the lake. Aquatic plants
act as essential rearing and nursery habitat for fish;
they help to stabilize the bottom and also help clear
the water. If the wrong kinds of plants get into the
lake, and they become abundant enough, they can pose
problems for lake users. Of particular concern are
invasive species such as water chestnut and Eurasian
watermilfoil. For this reason, WEP is closely
monitoring the plant community.
|
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Figure 3. Annual catch rate of adult largemouth bass
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Q: With all the recent upgrades to the Metro wastewater treatment plant (located on the southern shore of the lake) has the fish community shown an improvement?
A:
Yes, the fish community is improving and more quickly
than anticipated. The overall number of fish species
caught in the lake has increased since comprehensive
monitoring began in 2000. The abundance of many types
of fish is increasing, including important game fish
species such as largemouth bass (Figure 3).
Reproduction, although naturally variable, has also
seen some significant improvements (Figure 4). The
increase in bass reproduction appears to be correlated
with the increased abundance of aquatic plants, which
provide cover and nursery areas. These positive trends
are expected to continue.
|
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Figure 4. Annual catch rates of juvenile largemouth bass
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Q: What can we expect in the future?
A:
Water and habitat quality will continue to improve in
Onondaga Lake as the lake clean-up project moves
forward. In response, the biological community and
fishery should also improve.
There are, however, many uncertainties. Biological
communities can be affected by factors other than
simply the quality of the water:
-
Several fish
diseases, including largemouth bass virus (LMBV), and
viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), have been recently
discovered in nearby fish populations. (These diseases
are not transmittable to humans.)
-
Invasive species also continue to be a serious problem
in regional waterways. For example, the round goby,
which is already present in Lake Ontario, has the
potential to dramatically alter the lake's food web.
-
Natural population variability, unrelated to
remediation efforts, can cause unpredictable changes.
These issues are not limited to Onondaga Lake; all
regional lakes face these challenges. Despite these
issues, it appears that Onondaga Lake and its fish
community will continue to improve.
For additional information on fish in Onondaga Lake, please contact Dave Snyder, 315-435-2260.
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Onondaga County Dept of Water Environment Protection