CRAA's Goals and Objectives.

CRAA is a watershed group, so we work on the entire watershed and all species within. Our main focus is on sport fish, (trout, Atlantic and Pacific salmon and bass), but our work benefits everyone and everything in the valley from birds to animals to other valley users through carefully planned conservation work. CRAA's foremost objectives are a pristine river, with stable flows, reduced silt and flooding, a healthy valley with dense forest cover and improved groundwater.

Spawning Steehead at Norval

     CRAA is very active in supporting and enhancing native species including brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by protecting and rehabilitating existing populations (brook trout and redside dace) and stocking (Atlantic salmon). CRAA is a strong advocate of the non-native, but now wild and self-sustaining resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) population, both in the Forks of the Credit above Inglewood and in the middle section of Bronte Creek, above Lowville. CRAA also strongly supports non-native, but now wild migratory steelhead (Onchorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout access to a barrier in Inglewood, in order to greatly increase wild, self-sustaining migratory fisheries. Segregatition of the resident trout fishery in the Forks of the Credit is practised, to allay concerns of over-harvest in this delicate resident fishery. Furthermore, CRAA supports the MNR's stocked Pacific salmon fishery in the lake and lower river as it creates a unique and popular fishery.

Protecting resident trout populations and migratory spawning habitat from damage caused by threats such as urban sprawl, water taking, deforestation, chemical spills, etc are of the highest priority. CRAA diligently works with all levels of government agencies to assist in enforcement and lobby agencies for improving habitat protection. Enhancement and improvement of these unique fisheries is done through massive reforestation, stream rehabilitation, public education and conservation practices.

      CRAA is actively working to increase areas open to the public to improve angling opportunities, while reducing angler impacts and threats, such as over-harvest, on the fish population. In the near future CRAA hopes to see the lower Credit River open all year from Loyalist Creek to Eglinton Avenue for migratory trout and salmon, with a one fish limit and a minimum 30" size restriction on all salmon and trout. This will increase the open section by 60% while significantly reducing harvest of salmon and protecting very important maiden spawning wild steelhead and brown trout. The proposed regulations will ensure all returning adult trout will spawn at least once, ensuring they pass on their unique genetic makeup to future generations. These regulations will further improve fishing by increasing repeat spawning levels, which will lead to more and larger fish, with a much greater genetic diversity. CRAA is also working to open lower Bronte Creek from Rebecca Street to Dundas Street with the same regulations. These regulations are backed by scientific studies from the Great Lakes and highlight the importance of protecting maiden spawning fish, to preserve and increase genetic diversity and maximize the wild, self sustaining populations.

What has CRAA Done?      CRAA has completed over $500,000 in stream rehabilitation over the past 13 years with 117,000 native trees planted, stocking of over 1.5 million steelhead, brown trout and Atlantic salmon, countless stream rehabilitation works and over 25,000 volunteer hours logged. Funding from the MNR's CFWIP, MNR's Fish and Wildlife Budget, the Toronto Sportsmen's Club - Great Ontario Salmon Derby, Environment Canada's Eco-Action 2000, Ontario's Trillium Fund, City of Mississauga, Mayor Hazel McCallion Golf Tournament CRAA's fund raising, Port Credit and Promenade Launch Program, Shell Canada, local corporations and donations from the Credit Valley Conservation, MNR and Home Depot continue to help CRAA reach our goals. There are many more projects to accomplish and with our many partners we will succeed.

      CRAA is solely responsible for keeping Erindale Park open to fishing in 1990, when the City considered closing the park due to unethical fishing practices. CRAA was also the driving force behind opening the all year fishing area up to Highway 403 in the year 2000, after 5 years of attempts.

      CRAA has also operated the Streetsville Fishway since 1990 on behalf of, and in partnership with, the MNR to pass migratory steelhead and brown trout over the Streetsville Dam to access the lower river to Norval. In that time CRAA has implemented major changes to improve efficiency of the fish ladder and has successfully increased the effectiveness of the ladder from 30% (1992) to 98% in recent years.

      Despite CRAA's best efforts the steelhead fishery has diminished from its past level of the late 1980's. The main cause is that the MNR reduced steelhead stocking by 80% to 90%, since 1991, due to changes in International agreements, concerns over bait fish populations, and a shift towards a self sustaining fishery in Lake Ontario tributaries. For example,in 1992 an estimated 13,000 hatchery steelhead returned to the Credit River. In 2001 less than 1,000 returned, entirely related to the stocking reduction. To this point natural reproduction has not been able to replace the reduced stocking, due to extremely poor trout reproduction below Norval, which is caused by high summer water temperatures and high silt levels. For this reason CRAA has operated a fish hatchery and stocks close to 250,000 steelhead fry annually, since 1997, to supplement the poor natural reproduction caused by limited access from the past fisheries management plan and the Norval Dam. The stocking done by CRAA ensures that there will be a steelhead fishery, until natural reproduction improves with access to a new barrier in Inglewood, expected to be built by 2005.

      CRAA has actively campaigned for a barrier to be built in Inglewood, since 1996 when we learned that the old barrier had failed. The Inglewood barrier is used to segregate the resident fish between Inglewood and the Escarpment, over concerns that the migratory fish may impact the resident population. Although scientific evidence supports cohabitation by multiple salmonid species, impacts of heavy angler use and over-fishing could have serious consequences for the resident trout population.

      CRAA anticipates the new barrier will be constructed prior to 2005 (under the guidelines of the new Credit River Fisheries Management Plan) and migratory trout will have access to Inglewood as they once did. This will give the steelhead and migratory brown trout access to vital and necessary spawning and juvenile habitat to re-establish a wild, self-sustaining population in the Credit River, as well as tributaries such as Black and Silver Creeks.

      Without CRAA's past and present commitment and hard work the Credit River fishery would be bleak at best. There would be NO fishing in the lower river between August 15 and the end of April (including Erindale Park). The steelhead run would be around 1,000 adult fish per year, the results of the MNR's stocking efforts (rather than an estimated five to six thousand currently). There would be little, if any migratory brown trout fishery. The salmon fishery in the river would be closed entirely. The Streetsville fishway would not be a successful ladder and most steelhead would be stuck below the Streetsville Dam as prior to 1992. There would be 117,000 fewer trees planted in the watershed, $500,000 less in stream rehabilitation and countless thousands of volunteer hours that never would have happened. Rehabilitation work on resident brook and brown trout sections would never have occurred and there would be fewer resident trout and juvenile Atlantic salmon in the watershed today.

Membership Information

YES! I want to join the Credit River Anglers Association (CRAA) because I care about the future of our rivers!

     Are you concerned about the future health of the beautiful Credit River and Bronte Creek watersheds including all their tributaries? Do you enjoy fishing, hiking and other activities in the valleys? Do you want a cleaner river, better fishing and a cleaner environment for the future? Then you should join CRAA NOW!

     CRAA is a non profit corporation that is dedicated and committed to conservation and the good health of our watersheds. We are both a conservation group and an angling club. Members actively work to improve the health of the Credit River, Bronte Creek and their tributaries through well planned, scientifically researched rehabilitation efforts. Our goals are a cleaner, healthier ecosystem and with a pristine river and watershed, healthier fish populations and better sporting opportunities.

      CRAA works closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Halton Region Conservation Authority, the Cities of Mississauga, Oakville and Brampton and the Towns of Halton Hills (Georgetown), Caledon and Orangeville, as well as local and regional groups who have similar goals of a healthier environment. CRAA is also vigorously working towards closer relations with other groups, such as Trout Unlimited (Greg Clark Chapter) and Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club for the benefit of the watershed.

      Membership fees cover the costs of newsletter production, mailing and basic day to day business expenses. Any remaining membership fees are then transferred into the rehabilitation budget. Most major rehabilitation funding comes from MNR's CFWIP, Eco Action 2000, The Trillium Fund and CRAA's Boat Launch operation with the City of Mississauga and Port Credit and Promenade Marinas.

Membership Fees: 1 year $10.00   3 years $30.00

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