In her article “Shiner Shortage Doesn’t Auger Well For Anglers” Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles
apparently feels that anglers catching a lot of fish and bait dealers making a lot of money in 2010 is more
important than the health and the future well being of the fishery in Lake Nipisssing.
Had she spent any time researching the topic she would have discovered that the ban on the
transportation of minnows from water bodies south of hwy 401 to Northern Ontario was a measure
introduced by the MNR in 2006. The regulation was put in place to stop the spread of Viral Hemorrhagic
Septicemia (VHS) from the great lakes to inland lakes in Northern Ontario. The VHS virus is particularly
lethal to species of fish like the walleye. It is entirely possible that infected minnows could cause an
outbreak of VHS in Lake Nipissing’s walleye, decimating the fishery and destroying the years of work
put into rehabilitating the fishery.

As for the bait dealers, they have had 4 years to find an alternate source of minnows. It is
absolutely ludicrous to suggest that the regulation is still responsible for the shortage.
The one thing that Ms. Hamilton-McCharles did have right is that it is absurd to allow anglers
from Southern Ontario to bring minnows with them. One 5 gallon pail of minnows could be just as lethal
to the Lake Nipissing fishery as 500. This lapse in judgment and common sense is typical of the lack of
direction given to the MNR by the Liberal government in Toronto. This Liberal lack of political will to
provide proper management for our natural resources should be remembered for the next election.

Gaye Smith