There aren’t many changes to fishing regulations for the 2010 season, but there are a couple of which local anglers should be aware.

For one, there has been a limit placed on the number of sunfish or panfish to be harvested over a single year for Zone 18 (southeastern Ontario, including all of Lennox & Addington County).

Those with a sport fishing licence will now be able to harvest 300 sunfish, but only 30 of those will be allowed to be larger than 18 centimetres or 7.1 inches long.

“So the thinking behind that was this new regulation will protect the quality of the fishery, but still give people the opportunity to catch sunfish, and to catch fairly large numbers, but still protecting the large male sunfish,” said Mary Vansleeuwn, a management biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources office in Kemptville, the office that has jurisdiction over Zone 18.

“It’s an open season, year round. It is a lot of fish still, but we didn’t have a limit in place at all before. There are some people who would take that many. I think it would primarily be U.S. anglers that come here and target the sunfish.”

She said the fish is popular with American anglers because it tastes good, but also because the Canadian sunfish fishery is in much better shape than it is in the United States.

“The population down there has already suffered a pretty significant decline, so from what happened there, we know that we really need to protect the larger male sunfish, so we’re implementing these regulation so we don’t see the same population decline,” she said.

“The problem with the sunfish is not the number of fish out there, but you really need to protect the large males to keep the quality of fishery, because they protect the nest, and they will pass down the genes because they have survived. The thing is, if you take out all the large males in the population, then the younger, smaller males will start to breed sooner, and then you sort of lose the traits for large fish.”

A second major change to fishing regulations is that anglers are no longer allowed to catch lake sturgeon in Zone 18.

“We have a total ban on sturgeon. It was just listed in September, upon the recommendation of our Committee on the Status of Species At Risk in Ontario, as threatened. So subsequently, the season in Zone 18 was closed,” said Vansleeuwen.

Also for Zone 18, there are new limits for yellow perch. Those with a sport fishing licence are able to catch and possess 50, while those with a conservation licence can catch and keep 25.

Printed copies of the 2010 regulations are available at all licence issuers, and ServiceOntario/Government Information Centres, or visit www.ontario.ca/fishing.

There will also be more of a chance of Ontario residents to fish without a licence. The time period for licence free fishing has been extended. The first Family Fishing Weekend event takes place Feb. 13 to 15, while the second is from July 9 to 11.

For more information, visit www.familyfishingweekend.com.