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, ,fivâ€"vâ€"vâ€" v, III"! ’V“ IuI‘I‘ lhe Qtltune Station is celebrating its 25th this year. and in those yams the station's biologists and technicians have stocked Lake Ontario. and the rivers and creeks that empty into it from the north. with litenlly millions of salmon for your angling “In.” As the population of southern Ontario boomed over the last 200 years. many indige- nous fish species. including the Atlantic ‘ Fully Equipped Kitchen ‘ Catering Service available ‘ Suitable for 110 people For further information ‘ Afi'ordablc Rates ‘SPECIAL EVENTS‘ McCowan/Bloomington location Lemonville Community Centre 13453 McCowan Rd. CALL 905-640-3965 A GREAT PLACE TO RENT Atmosphere Perfect Setting for BY CONRAD BOYCE Culture station in Whitchurch-Stoufli'ille stocks Ontario streams with almost one million salmon a year The Ringwood Fish Culture Station was established in 1980 with a particular focus on salmon. George Bluett. its current co-ordlna- tor. h‘aswnrked at Ringwood for pver 16 ygam “This spring. we'll be Introducing about 900.000 young salmon to various streams Finally. a few decades ago. the provincial government decided to attempt to re-intm- duce many of those locally extinct species The lake tmut has been a challenge. but the Allende salmon has made a strong return. accompanied by a couple of Pacific species. the coho and the Chinook. salmon and the lake tmul. succumbed to such factors as pollution. dammlng of swarm, and the Introduction of strange pmdatqll'y species guchfls the set} lamprey. PHOTOS BY CONRAD BOYCE The station is busy year-round. The fish- raising actually begins in the fall, when the stalfharvesteggsinthewlldfromaboutSOO pairs ofcoho and Chinook. as well as from a brood stock of Atlantic salmon. The eggs mature in large trays. 10,000 in each tray. until about Christmas time. when the rapidly maturing fry are transferred to large holding tanks with a capacity of up to 50,000 young fish. All of the station’s water comes from the purest groundwater wells. SPRING RITUAL - This truck, parked outside the Ringwood Fish Culture Station, hauls a large tank, which is being loaded by means of large plastic tubes, with 50,000 young salmon destined for the Don and Humber river basins. throughout southern Ontario.” says Georgi. 'Sevamyperoent amPaclflcspeclo-and e rest Atlantlc. 'Ihey‘re at an age where they’ll lmprlnt on that stream. and that‘s where they“ retum to spawn ln a couple of years, nhe_r maturing ln the lake." Until then, thanks to the fisheries folk right here in Whitchurch-Stoufiville, Ontario anglers will continue to enjoy due delicious challenge of catdflng a steal coho or Chinook. “There are other. stations in the province that are working on species like lake trout.” Geo e saya “lfthey succeed in Ie-lmmduc- Ing osenativespedeslnabigwaywe’fl probably think about leducing our Padfic salmon production. After all. they’re a long way from home." The station has an excellent self interpretive centre, open weekdays m 9 mm. tonoonandlp mto4 lumWhichtakes the visitor throughpthe Wp prawns and features aquariums salmon at vari- ous stages of growth mom-yams-