Status of rainbow smelt in U.S. waters of Lake Ontario, 2011

Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax are the second most abundant pelagic prey fish in Lake Ontario. The abundance and weight indices for Lake Ontario age-1 and older rainbow smelt declined in 2011 and represented a 64% and 54% decrease respectively from 2010 levels. Length frequency-based age analysis indicated that age-1 rainbow smelt constituted 44% of the estimated population however age 1 abundance was 72% lower than age 1 abundance in 2010 and was 50% lower than the 10 year average age 1 abundance. Proportionally, large rainbow smelt (≥150 mm), were more common in 2011, making up approximately 7% of the population, substantially higher than the 10 year average of 2%. Based on the most recent time series data, rainbow smelt abundance peaks appear to follow a 4-5 year cycle.