Northern Sunfish Restoration Activities in Lower Tonawanda Creek and the Adjacent Erie Canal in 2023 and 2024

Abstract

: The Northern Sunfish (Lepomis peltastes), a threatened species in NY state, was caught in lower Tonawanda Creek and a wide water slough of the Erie Canal (study area) from 1974 to 2009. It was not caught at these locations after 2009 and was assumed to be extirpated. This study began the process of testing the hypothesis that the absence of Northern Sunfish (NS) after 2009 was caused by removal of two-thirds of the NS caught in the study area from 2006-2009 for the purpose of obtaining brood stock to establish a pond population that would preserve the study area population and be used for stocking elsewhere in NYS. In May 2023, more than 3,000 descendants of study area NS were stocked into the study area. Follow-up sampling by boat and backpack electrofishing caught 43, 12 and 9 stocked fish in July and September 2023 and June 2024, respectively. Many of the stocked fish and fish caught in June 2024 were gravid, but it was too soon to find evidence of recruitment. Sampling in the study area is recommended in June 2025 to ascertain continuing presence of stocked NS and look for evidence of recruitment of progeny from NS stocked in 2023.