Lake Ontario Spring Prey Fish Assessment

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

The #USGS completed their 2015 Lake Ontario spring prey fish assessment on May 11, which is an annual collaboration with various partners to assess alewife and rainbow smelt populations in the U.S. waters of the lake. This year, the assessment team also completed two surveys about the geographic distribution of alewife in both U.S. and Canadian waters. 

The team collected native species that are the focus of restoration efforts in Lake Ontario, including: lake sturgeon, lake trout, and a small coregonine that is pending identification to determine if it's a deepwater cisco (bloater) stocked by the USGS during fall 2014 (video of the 2012 stocking: http://bit.ly/1RK3q4K).

More info: http://on.doi.gov/1KNIyEz

#GreatLakes #science

Photo: USGS engineer Ted Strang and biologist Dr. Brian Weidel with an adult lake sturgeon collected near Olcott, New York (Credit: USGS)