There are a number of ways you or your organization can help restore Atlantic Salmon to Lake Ontario. Whether you are an individual, a conservation club, a school group, or a business organization, we need you! Opportunities including participating in Events, Workshops or Habitat Restoration, being a Partner or Sponsor, adopting an Atlantic Salmon, or simply making a donation – details are below.
Adopt-An-Atlantic
The Adopt-An-Atlantic fundraising program is a great way for anyone to get involved in the program. By adopting one of the Atlantic Salmon broodstock, which are the parent fish of the fry we are releasing into Lake Ontario’s tributaries, you are supporting research and assessment projects made possible by knowing the identity and genetics of all the parent stock. For a contribution of $10.00, you’ll get the naming rights to one fish, a certificate recognizing your participation, and you and your fish will be listed in the Adoption Registry.
Please help bring back Lake Ontario’s lost treasure! Contact Ben Teskey for more information about the program.
Makes a great gift!!
Habitat Restoration
Habitat restoration and water quality protection are essential parts of the overall restoration program. The habitat restoration component of the program strategically identifies and addresses critical habitat areas within each of the target streams, specifically any major limiting factors affecting Atlantic Salmon.
The program also works with existing conservation groups and authorities to connect and multiply the resources available for habitat restoration. For example, the OFAH has several community-based member clubs in the Greater Toronto Area; Trout Unlimited Canada has existing chapters focusing on coldwater restoration in some of the target streams; and Ontario Streams assists with stream habitat restoration. Volunteers, conservation clubs, school groups and community groups can all deliver the on-the-ground projects.
We will be hosting TD Tree Days this where you can come out and help us plant trees! Stay tuned for more information.
For more information, or to volunteer on habitat restoration projects, please contact Ben Teskey.
Fish Production
Each spring we require volunteers for fish stocking efforts. This is typically in May and June and is announced via social media and emailed to our volunteer list. To ensure you hear about these opportunities, please email Ben Teskey to be placed on the volunteer list.
Conservation groups that are interested in being involved with the program should also contact Ben Teskey about opportunities to provide stakeholder input into the Recovery Strategy and action plans, and participate in monitoring the streams and lake fishery.
Events and Workshops
Individuals can participate through open houses and workshops when we present the Recovery Strategy and action plans, and ask for public input on them. Landowners will be able to participate through stream habitat restoration and local stocking events.
We encourage all anglers, particularly dedicated trout and salmon anglers and charter boat operators, to make sure they can identify Atlantic Salmon. Even fisheries professionals can have a hard time separating Atlantic Salmon from Brown and Rainbow Trout. Anglers can voluntarily record their catches of Atlantic Salmon to help us understand rates of return and movement patterns. If you have caught an Atlantic Salmon, please let us know!
Partners, Sponsors and Inkind Donations
A massive undertaking such as restoring a species to a Great Lake also requires significant resources. Many of our partners and sponsors have already stepped up with allocations of funding, staff time, and in-kind contributions. We will, however, require more, and to that end we would like to turn to businesses local to the Lake Ontario region, from Kingston to Hamilton, and to foundations with environmental programs.
Any such organizations interested in Atlantic Salmon restoration should feel free to contact Ben Teskey, Manager of Programs, at 705-748-6324 Extension 237.
Bring Back the Salmon Newsletter
Program Partners and Supporters
Contact Us
1-800-263-OFAH (6324) ext. 237
PO Box 2800
Peterborough, Ontario
K9J 8L5