Shawanaga First Nation (SFN) is located approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Parry Sound in south-central Ontario. The Shawanaga First Nation’s involvement in walleye culture and restoration dates back to the early 1970s. With the construction of a hatchery in 1996, the SFN was able to expand its efforts and now produces approximately 3 to 5 million walleye fry annually. The SFN fish culture program benefits from long-standing community support and is recognized as a valued opportunity to engage youth in various stages of the walleye collection, spawning and incubation processes, providing them with valuable experiences in fish culture and environmental management. It is evident that the Shawanaga First Nation walleye program has been well developed and is operated by knowledgeable and dedicated staff. Importantly, the First Nation leadership is supportive of the initiative.
As Anishinabe people, we have traditionally looked after the lands and waters since time immemorial practicing natural law, and from these practices we developed a way to balance traditional harvesting and modern conservation techniques that have proven to be successful as evidenced by the letter of support from the MNR/F which states that our work is precedence setting.
Since the beginning, the efforts towards operation of the Shawanaga Walleye Hatchery has been paid for by community finances, reflecting the strong commitment from the community towards this initiative. Under full direction from Leadership, strong fishery management practices & techniques have been put in to place to ensure the well being of this stock will be maintained for generations to come. Community River Watchers are deployed to protect the Spawning Walleye and the river during the most critical time of the year to compliment the dedication shown by hatchery workers, volunteers and the community.
With the soon to be completed expansion of their current facility, the community will be working towards improving on the numbers of Walleye being stocked to 8 to 10 million fry, countless fertilized eggs and nearly 200,000 advanced fingerlings.