Fisheries Management Zone 14 (FMZ 14)
Information about fishing and how fish resources are managed in Fisheries Management Zone 14 (main basin of Lake Huron).
News and updates
The revised lake trout rehabilitation plan for Ontario waters of Lake Huron is available for your review. For more information, contact the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit at
Fishing rules
You can:
- find specific rules for fishing in FMZ 14
- use the Fish on-Line mapping tool
- find a complete set of fishing rules in the Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary
About this zone
FMZ 14 includes the waters of Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron. This zone has:
- the largest bay on the Great Lakes
- Thirty Thousand Islands, the world’s largest freshwater archipelago
- shoreline that includes Canadian Shield, glacial areas and limestone
- many tributaries draining the Canadian Shield
- farmland to the south
- near-shore fisheries for walleye, small and largemouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, yellow perch
- offshore recreational fisheries for chinook salmon, rainbow trout
- commercial fisheries for lake whitefish, walleye, lake trout, yellow perch
FMZ 14 is one of 20 fisheries management zones in the province.
Location
FMZ 14:
- includes the waters of Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron
- stretches northwest to the compensation works on St. Mary’s River Sault Ste. Marie
- dividing line from FMZ 13 (the main basin of Lake Huron) begins at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, goes through the Bruce archipelago to Manitoulin Island
- FMZ boundary extends across river mouths in most cases
- cities include Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River, Gore Bay, Little Current, Parry Sound, Midland, Collingwood, Owen Sound and Wiarton, and more than 20 First Nations communities
Legal boundary map and detail maps
Legal boundary map for FMZ 14 and detail maps 1 - 24.5 (PDF)
Regulation maps
- Beaver River – Thornbury (PDF)
- Bighead River – Meaford (PDF)
- Hog Creek – Victoria Harbour (PDF)
- LaFontaine Creek – LaFontaine (PDF)
- Nottawasaga River – Wasaga Beach (PDF)
- Nottawasaga and Boyne River – Alliston (PDF)
- Parry Sound and Surrounding Area, Georgian Bay (PDF)
- Pottawatomi River – Owen Sound (PDF)
- Pretty River – Collingwood (PDF)
- Sturgeon River – Waubaushene (PDF)
- Sydenham River (Owen Sound) (PDF)
Monitoring reports and management plans
- Joint strategic plan for Great Lakes fishery management
- Fish community objectives for Lake Huron
- The state of Lake Huron in 1999
Zone advisory council
The FMZ 14 council provides advice during the development of fisheries objectives and strategies.
Council members represent a broad range of views including:
- angling groups
- commercial fishers
- scientists and researchers
- conservation groups
- interested community members
The advisory council participates in fisheries management by:
- sharing ideas and expertise with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
- helping to develop and implement management strategies
- communicating with the local and angling community
For more information about the Fisheries Management Zone 14 advisory council, please contact the Upper Great Lakes management unit at