CORTLAND, N.Y. — Fisheries biologists who have been working to restore Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario are trying to restore the population of its natural prey as well.
Lake herring and bloaters were once plentiful in the cold depths of Lake Ontario, where they fed on plankton and invertebrates and made up an important link in the food chain. But overharvesting by anglers and competition from invasive alewife and rainbow smelt that arrived with the opening of the Erie Canal devastated the native prey fish. The last bloater, also known as deepwater cisco or whitefish, was caught in 1983, and native herring are found only in the lake's eastern end.
Now, in a collaborative effort of federal, state, and Canadian officials, scientists are raising prey fish in tanks and releasing tens of thousands of juveniles as part of a larger program to restore ecological balance to the lake.
''It's a huge job,'' said Jim Johnson, director of the US Geological Survey's Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science. ''It's never been attempted before.''
The initiative focuses on toxic substances, invasive species, pollution, wildlife protection and restoration.