Grass pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 12

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Existing protection or other status designations

Although there are no specific statutes or regulations to protect this fish, they are protected indirectly by a number of statutes. The Ontario Fishery Regulations do not include members of the family Esocidae in the list of species that can be captured for bait, or used as bait. The following Acts applied by various ministries of the Government of Ontario provide indirect protection: Lakes and Rivers Improvements Act, Environmental Assessment Planning Act, Ontario Water Resources Act, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Federal Fisheries Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act, Conservation Authorities Act, Public Lands Act, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

Because it is a species of wetland streams, the grass pickerel is listed as “Locally Significant" in the Ontario wetland evaluation system. A wetland receives some point value (and presumably greater protection) if the grass pickerel is present in a wetland (A. Yagi, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Niagara Area, Guelph District, Vineland, Ontario; personal communication).

Quebec fishing regulations exclude the grass pickerel from the list of species that can be captured and used as bait. Grass pickerel is included in the pikes and pickerels group, protected by a closed fishing season of five weeks (between March 31 and the beginning of May) and a total limit of capture and possession of 6. Commercial fishing of this species is not allowed. As this is a very rare species, of small size, it is not of interest for sport and commercial fishing.

Also, in the distribution area, where most of the captures had been reported, on the south shore of Lac Saint-Louis, more than 500 ha of marshes has been protected in the watershed of Ruisseau Saint-Jean, on Saint-Bernard Island and in the Léry and Maple Grove sectors. These habitat protection and improvement projects are the results of a cooperation between Héritage Saint-Bernard and Faune Québec (the Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune du Québec [MRNF]).