Media invited to help stock 40,000 Atlantic salmon in historic Cobourg Brook

OFAH FILE: 842/420S
May 24, 2007

For Immediate Release

Media invited to help stock 40,000 Atlantic salmon in historic Cobourg Brook

The media are invited to help volunteers bring back a lost ecological treasure to Lake Ontario. Tomorrow, students from Fleming College, and representatives from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority, and Ministry of Natural Resources, will wade into the historic Cobourg Brook to stock 40,000 Atlantic salmon.

“Photos and newspaper clippings from tomorrow’s conservation event will forever tell the story about how conservation-minded sponsors, volunteers, and organizations such as the O.F.A.H., rolled up their sleeves to bring back Lake Ontario’s Atlantic salmon,” said O.F.A.H. Atlantic Salmon Program Coordinator, Chris Robinson.

Not since the late 1800’s have Atlantic salmon, Lake Ontario’s original salmon, flourished in Ontario waters. Atlantic salmon is the first species in Canada to be wiped out as a result of early settlement. A century later, the O.F.A.H. and its conservation partners are determined to bring them back.

Since the Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program was launched last year, over half a million Atlantic salmon have been released into select Lake Ontario tributaries. As part of the program, hundreds of volunteer-hours have also been donated to stream restoration work.

Stocking Cobourg Brook with Atlantic salmon is led by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and its conservation partners, including Banrock Station Wines, LCBO, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association. Other project partners include Trees Ontario, Fishing Forever Foundation, WFN: World Fishing Network, Ontario Wildlife Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Canadian Wildlife Federation, and Fleming College.

For more information, visit www.bringbackthesalmon.ca.

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