Restoring biodiversity and a valuable fishery: Atlantic salmon reintroduction into Lake Ontario

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Atlantic salmon were once abundant in Lake Ontario and supported one of its most valuable fisheries, but thesefish were extirpated from the lake a century ago. The successful reintroduction of Atlantic salmon into LakeOntario has become a top priority for management agencies and conservation groups, as it has been estimatedthat it could provide up to $15 million in new revenue over 10 years to local economies through fisheries, andwould be a substantial step towards the recovery of lost biodiversity. A self-sustaining population of Atlanticsalmon would also provide ecosystem services through their role as a top predator, increasing the resiliency offood webs and fisheries. In 2010, we partnered with multiple organizations on an NSERC Strategic PartnershipGrant that identified high in-stream mortality as a major hurdle to successful Atlantic salmon rehabilitation inLake Ontario. We will now build on this past research by using an integrated approach to detail the causes ofin-stream mortality and provide best approaches for mitigation. These analyses will include environmentalDNA and next-generation, real-time monitoring of movement, performance, survival, and causes of mortalityof Atlantic salmon. Food web analyses using stable isotopes and gut content DNA will examine theconsequences of competition and predation on Atlantic salmon. Finally, transcriptional profiling followingimmune and exercise challenges will detail the mechanisms underlying differences in survival across strainsand rearing treatments. The project will thus provide a comprehensive scientific evaluation of the factorsaffecting reintroduction outcome in a species of considerable ecological and economic value, and willcontribute to the development of best practices for hatchery rearing, release timing, and strain and site selectionto support the restoration of Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario and throughout Canada.