Submitted by Stu Paterson, PATERSON MEDIA,
for the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association
South Bruce Peninsula Ontario: It’s a pre-Christmas tradition with the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association (BPSA). This year twenty club members all volunteers, gathered to measure and sort and then stock fish raised at the BPSA Hatchery west of Wiarton. The trout stocking ritual went well on November 26th.
BPSA Hatchery Manager Al Sutter reports eleven-thousand Brown Trout and six thousand Rainbow Trout were stocked at two different locations on Colpoy’s Bay.
According to terms of the Fish Stocking license BPSA has been issued by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Browns were released into the wild at the Wiarton Marina. The Rainbow Trout were set free at Colpoy’s Creek, one of three Georgian Bay locations the club is licensed to use for trout stocking.
Since the sixties BPSA has planted more than 4-million trout and salmon to benefit our sports fishery.
Its a fishery that does good things for our Ontario economy:
•1.2 million residents and non-resident anglers participate in recreational fishing.
•their combined spending contributes $2.2 billion annually to the Ontario economy.
•this activity also supports 41,000 person-years of employment.
A provincial official has paid tribute to our BPSA volunteers. Ontario’s Natural Resources and Forestry Minister described our club as “a Community Hatchery Program supported group with 51 hatchery volunteers who donate over 1,500 hours a year raising and stocking: 75,000 Rainbow Trout fingerlings, 25,000 Rainbow Trout yearlings and 25,000 Brown Trout a year.”
It is estimated each fish stocked is worth 30-dollars to the community where it is stocked.
The 300-member BPSA was established in the sixties to “preserve and enhance fish and wildlife.” BPSA has the longest running volunteer-run fish hatchery in Ontario, something we are proud of.
Our conservation club is best known for fish stocking. However, we have other family-oriented programs that attract young and old. There’s our “Invasive Species Awareness – Boot Scrubber Program”, Stream Rehabilitation projects, BPSA youth and adult Archery, Tree Planting sessions, youth and adult Firearms Safety Training and our BPSA Handgun Club at our indoor range in the BPSA Clubhouse. Oh yes, don’t forget our open houses and the annual BPSA Kids Fishing Derby.
BPSA recently affiliated with the 100-thousand member Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH). It is THE major lobby group representing the interests of anglers and hunters. The Federation meets regularly with governments on the many issues facing the outdoors community.
Our regular club meetings are held on the last Thursday night of the month. The next session is on January 25th at 7:30 pm at the BPSA clubhouse on North Acres Road west of Wiarton. Join us if you are curious about our conservation group and our aim of preserving and enhancing fish and wildlife.
Please check our website at: bpsportsmen.com/newsletters-wp/
Annual Christmas Potluck
Our annual CHRISTMAS POT LUCK event is on December 17th at 3pm. Take advantage of signing on as a BPSA member at this party and qualify for a number of “Early Bird Prizes” gathered by the BPSA Prize Team.
The BPSA membership team reminds us: getting your membership renewal in by December 17th qualifies you to be entered into our early bird draw which will be held at the clubhouse Christmas Social. We have great giveaways valued from $50 to $200. We can’t stress enough how important it is to have your membership renewed by the end of the year. Membership forms are available on our website (www.bpsportsmen.com) and at the club.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year from your friends at the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association.
