Husted, Division of Wildlife Announce Expansion of DataOhio Portal

ODNR fish stocking dataset provides helpful info to Ohio’s fishing community

 

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Lt. Governor Jon Husted, Director of InnovateOhio, today announced the expansion of the DataOhio Portal with the addition of a new fish stocking dataset through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), just ahead of Ohio’s Free Fishing Weekend starting Saturday, June 19th.

The DataOhio Portal is a public-facing portal that provides more than 220 datasets and over 100 interactive visualizations to inform data-driven decision-making for state agencies and their partners. The DOP is a first-of-its-kind state technology, enabling data collaboration and sharing while also featuring enhanced security and privacy.

“Ohio lakes, rivers and streams have been stocked with over 1.5 billion fish since 1970, and most Ohioans who fish were unable to know what species and how many fish were stocked in their local lakes,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “As someone who has fished Ohio lakes my entire life, I know how valuable this information can be to anglers who are deciding where they should take their grandchildren to fish or where they might catch that trophy they’ve always wanted.”

ODNR’s fish stocking dataset is available to the public and viewable in an interactive Ohio map and data table, which allows users to customize their search by:

             o Location (Ohio public waterways)

             o Stocking Year (1970-Present)

             o Species

             o Lifestage (fry, fingerling, etc.)

             o Total Stocked (total number of fish stocked)

“Millions of Ohioans enjoy fishing each year,” said Kendra Wecker, Chief of the Division of Wildlife. “We frequently receive questions about the best locations to fish, and what they might catch when they go. This new self-service tool provides direct and easy access to connect people to more destinations when fishing in Ohio.”

The DOP illustrates the State of Ohio’s commitment to becoming more customer-centric and data-driven, ultimately allowing state agencies, programs and entities to better serve Ohioans.

The additional dataset will be especially helpful for the upcoming “free fishing weekend” for Ohio residents on Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Ohio residents may fish for free in any of Ohio’s public waters, including Lake Erie and the Ohio River, during this weekend. It is the only weekend all year when those 16 years old and older are not required to obtain a fishing license to fish in the state’s public waters.

Users can access the new fish stocking dataset and visualization under “Recent Datasets” or by filtering the Data Catalog by “Agency > Ohio Department of Natural Resources” at data.ohio.gov.

 

Information courtesy of the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio