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Henrietta, N.Y. —
New York’s waters of Lake Ontario comprise more than 2.7 million acres, boast an expansive ecosystem and provide ample opportunities for recreation that feed money into the state’s economy.
At the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s annual “State of Lake Ontario” meeting March 14 in Henrietta, the public will have the opportunity to learn more about the current health of the lake.
An ever-changing ecosystem
The ecosystem of Lake Ontario is a complex food web that is constantly involving, said Steve LaPan, section head for Great Lakes fisheries with the state DEC. When changes are made to it — for example, a species is added into the system — there is a shift in the balance of the web.
“The great take-home message is that the system is highly disturbed when you introduce an invasive species,” he said. “It changes the way energy traditionally flows. ”
More than 160 invasive species — from zebra mussels to sea lamprey — have been brought into Lake Ontario, many from ships that travel from other parts of the world to the St. Lawrence Seaway, said LaPan.
“It basically covers the whole range of living critters introduced into the system,” he said, adding that the DEC has been much more aware in the past two decades of what is happening to the ecosystem. “If an animal comes in, by the time we detect it, there’s no chance of eliminating it. There’s very little chance of controlling it.”
Research is being conducted to find ways to better control invasive species, such as through introducing pathogens that would kill a specific species, said LaPan.
But, he said, “change will happen. Change is the order of business in Lake Ontario. It will continue to change. It is difficult to predict what the changes will mean.”
Fish health
The changing ecosystem can have a damaging impact on the lake’s fish, said LaPan. Invasive species can compete with them for their traditional food source; or if there are too many of a particular fish species in the lake, they can diminish their food source themselves.
“We can’t have sustainable fisheries with an unhealthy ecosystem,” said LaPan. “When we study fisheries in Lake Ontario, we’re not just studying the fish — we’re studying the food.”
Lake Ontario and its embayments and tributaries support numerous populations of fish, including a variety of trout and salmon, bass, walleye, yellow perch and panfish. The two primary predatory species in Lake Ontario are lake trout and Atlantic salmon, which there are ongoing efforts to restore, said LaPan.
New York’s waters of Lake Ontario comprise more than 2.7 million acres, boast an expansive ecosystem and provide ample opportunities for recreation that feed money into the state’s economy.
At the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s annual “State of Lake Ontario” meeting March 14 in Henrietta, the public will have the opportunity to learn more about the current health of the lake.
An ever-changing ecosystem
The ecosystem of Lake Ontario is a complex food web that is constantly involving, said Steve LaPan, section head for Great Lakes fisheries with the state DEC. When changes are made to it — for example, a species is added into the system — there is a shift in the balance of the web.
“The great take-home message is that the system is highly disturbed when you introduce an invasive species,” he said. “It changes the way energy traditionally flows. ”
More than 160 invasive species — from zebra mussels to sea lamprey — have been brought into Lake Ontario, many from ships that travel from other parts of the world to the St. Lawrence Seaway, said LaPan.
“It basically covers the whole range of living critters introduced into the system,” he said, adding that the DEC has been much more aware in the past two decades of what is happening to the ecosystem. “If an animal comes in, by the time we detect it, there’s no chance of eliminating it. There’s very little chance of controlling it.”
Research is being conducted to find ways to better control invasive species, such as through introducing pathogens that would kill a specific species, said LaPan.
But, he said, “change will happen. Change is the order of business in Lake Ontario. It will continue to change. It is difficult to predict what the changes will mean.”
Fish health
The changing ecosystem can have a damaging impact on the lake’s fish, said LaPan. Invasive species can compete with them for their traditional food source; or if there are too many of a particular fish species in the lake, they can diminish their food source themselves.
“We can’t have sustainable fisheries with an unhealthy ecosystem,” said LaPan. “When we study fisheries in Lake Ontario, we’re not just studying the fish — we’re studying the food.”
Lake Ontario and its embayments and tributaries support numerous populations of fish, including a variety of trout and salmon, bass, walleye, yellow perch and panfish. The two primary predatory species in Lake Ontario are lake trout and Atlantic salmon, which there are ongoing efforts to restore, said LaPan.
Among the most damaging invasive species recently has been the sea lamprey, which attaches itself to fish and drains their body fluids, said LaPan.
But despite the unstable ecosystem, Lake Ontario’s fish, in general, have been doing remarkably well, he said.
“A lot of our sport fisheries are still booming,” he said. “Lake Ontario and its tributaries remain some of the best sport fisheries in North America. ... People are catching a lot of fish. People are catching big fish.”
In the past seven years, fishers have had record-high catch rates for trout and salmon in Lake Ontario, and the fisheries have brought more than $112 million to the local New York economy, according to the DEC.
Beaches and water quality
Ensuring that water quality at Monroe County’s Lake Ontario bathing beaches — at Ontario Beach and Durand Eastman parks — is the responsibility of the county health department, said department spokesperson John Ricci.
During the swim season, which usually spans from mid-June to Labor Day, department officials test the waters daily to make sure they are safe to swim in.
In a typical summer, the beaches are closed about one-third of the season because of issues of water quality.
The trend has stayed generally the same the past 20 years, though during summers that have more heavy rains, the beaches are usually closed more frequently, said Ricci. When there is a lot of rain, the creeks and streams that feed into the Genesee River, which then flows into Lake Ontario, bring in contaminants that can affect the water quality, he said.
Factors considered when studying water quality include the presence of bacteria and algae, high waves and high river flow.
Algae is probably the biggest concern to Monroe County’s beaches, said Ricci, particularly along the pier at Ontario Beach Park. The pier, which is about a half-mile long, acts like a “catcher’s mitt” for algae, he said.
The county is currently working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which installed and maintains the pier, to develop solutions to the problem that are both effective and economically feasible.
“A lot or people are studying it and trying to determine what can make th conditions even better,” he said. “We’re continuing to dialogue with them and study the issue.”
