Fisheries Management

Fish Population Monitoring

Saskatchewan monitors fish populations to detect changes from harvest, environmental conditions and stocking.

Monitoring populations relies on ministry biologists to collect important information on both the lake and the fishery including water quality and fisheries data such as the species, density, health, sex, length and age of the fish collected. Results provide information on the status of fish populations and form the basis for changes to the management of the fishery if needed to continue to meet management objectives.

Fisheries Management Plan

The Fisheries Management Plan helps us manage our fisheries resource in a way that maintains the traditional and cultural activities we enjoy, while ensuring sustainable economic benefits for everyone in the province.

Saskatchewan Stocked Trout Angler Survey

By participating in this voluntary survey, anglers can help fisheries biologists manage the stocked trout fishery in Saskatchewan. Anglers submit information for each day fished on a stocked trout waterbody, using either:

• The survey web page; or
• The Survey123 field app, which can be downloaded to a smartphone at no cost.

For complete instructions, refer to the Saskatchewan Stocked Trout Angler Survey User Guide.

Fish Stocking

Fish stocking is a management tool that helps us manage or change fish populations.

Many factors affect the success of fish stocking, including:

• Current management objectives for the waterbody;
• Habitat suitability;
• Productive capacity of the water body;
• The size and quantity of the fish stocked;
• The presence of fish species that compete for food or prey on the stocked fish; and
• Environmental factors that affect survival.

Stocking cannot sustain a fishery above the productive capability of the lake or the species, which means stocking lakes where game fish are capable of reproducing will not result in any improvement to the fishery.

The size of fish stocked in Saskatchewan typically includes:

• Fry (fish that are a few days old);
• Fingerling (fish reared to about eight to 12 cm in length);
• Catchable (fish reared to about 20 to 30 cm in length); and
• Adult (mature fish).

Each year, the Saskatchewan Fish Hatchery stocks millions of fish throughout the province, with the majority of fish being native species such as walleye.