Tag Archives: fishing

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Higher outflows and field data collection this summer

http://m.sootoday.com/content/news/details.aspx?c=90655

“The International Lake Superior Board of Control, under authority granted to it by the International Joint Commission, expects to increase the Lake Superior outflow for the month of May.

The increased outflow is expected to exceed the capacities of the hydropower plants on the St. Marys River in May, and therefore the excess will be released through the control structure at the head of the St. Marys Rapids.

“The outflow of Lake Superior will be adjusted over the next several months to accommodate expected maintenance at the hydropower plants, and to reduce the potential for adverse consequences of high and fluctuating flows in the St. Marys Rapids.”

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Bombay duck is dying. Blame fishing, warming

An article from The Times of India explores the effects of climate change & ocean waters warming on fish stocks and the fishing and culinary industries. Here is an excerpt from the article followed by a link for those who want to read more. “…Of most concern perhaps is the fate of the state’s famous Bombay duck. As with other fish, catch rose through the 1960s and ’70s due to increased mechanized fishing. But the five-year average of annual landings of the fish has reduced by more than a third from 30,000 tonnes in the 1980s to around 20,000 tonnes now, according to CMFRI. Fishing pressures may also be causing this fish to mature earlier, producing fewer eggs. Only a few, low-value species saw an increase.: sardine (taarla) catch went up by 142%, mackerel (bangda) by 133% and tuna by 70%. Until the late 1990s, sardines and mackerel were rarely found north of Ratnagiri. If the decline continues, the new home for Bombay duck, albeit a different species, may be West Bengal; catch of the fish has increased in that state as well as in Orissa as fisheries in the east have developed in recent years. Silver pomfret has also been severely affected, with its five-year average of annual landings dropping almost 80% from 24,000 tonnes in the 1980s to just over 5,000 tonnes in recent years, said Deshmukh. In fact, of 25 important fish stocks in the state, only two species are still abundant, found a CMFRI assessment from 2007 to 2011. More than half are in decline. The drop in stocks is due to overfishing and the increased demand for certain seafood. Fish stocks here can sustain around 8,000 boats with reasonable profit, according to CMFRI estimates, but the actual number of boats plying the region is over 17,000. Of these, around 5,600 are trawlers ”almost twice” the optimal number. Boats are also catching younger, smaller fish, giving populations less of a chance to reproduce. Climate change may add to the pressures on local stocks. Larger fish tend to be more sensitive to environmental changes…” http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-09/flora-fauna/37580464_1_bombay-duck-fish-stocks-species

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Kayak Fishing Lake Erie | Fishgator – Freshwater Kayak Fishing

This is an excerpt from Kevin Websters fishgator.com blog about kayak fishing on Lake Erie:

…We had drifted a bit further out, but not quickly, and we decided to head back to where we were having hits and hookups. It was roughly 9:15AM now, and our phones weren’t telling us anything was up. However, all the boats had moved on. We were alone out there. As we paddled out of the 30 foot depths and back to the 20, the sky was starting to turn a bit pinkish. When we stopped paddling, there was a VERY thin line of clouds over Canada. Based on my Lake Ontario experience, I guessed we had 2 hours of “safe time” before we had to deal with those clouds, and even then, they weren’t the legendary low, tall nasty clouds you sometimes see coming out of Canada when you’re out on Ontario. These were thin, dark, wispy clouds. I didn’t give it much thought. Just then, jimmy Yansick hooked into a smallie, and I did too. We had a double hook up going, and we were excited. Both fish were landed (mine is pictured), and we were sitting on a very flat, windless Lake Erie for a minute or so afterwards, in about 21 feet of water, 1.5 miles offshore. Then it turned on us. Lake Erie is a Bear When it Churns Up I’ve fished some big lakes in my kayak before, and fought through 2 footers on Black Lake, Hemlock, and other long lakes that give the water a chance to really stand up. None of that prepared me for what I was about to experience. It helped me get through it with all my gear and my life, but by no means did it PREPARE me….. http://fishgator.com/wny-kayaking/kayak-fishing-lake-erie/

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Chinese intrigued by IJC SUCCESS

The IJC settles water disputes between the USA and Canada. The organization was established by the 1909 International Boundary Waters Treaty. The IJC has been more successful in diffusing distributive water issues rather than regulatory. Afterall everybody gets something with distributive policies while regulatory policies aim to change behaviors. This short article written by Mike Vlasveld was published in the Blackburn News. The link to the article is attached: The International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Regional Office is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Director, Dr. Saad Jasim says the relationship between Canada and the United States, shared at the Windsor office, is very unique. “We had a Chinese delegation come to our office and they had problems dealing with waters shared by provinces within the same country, and they can’t get an agreement on that,” says Jasim. “They said, ‘how can you get agreements and (the IJC) be going for 100-years?’ I said, ‘That’s by good dialogue, good understanding, and improvement of communication.’” Jasim says 40-million people live along the Great Lakes, and use the water for drinking, fishing, and recreation. He explains that it’s the job of his office to ensure the quality of the water is as high as possible. Most recently, the director says they held a workshop where 40 scientists from both countries sat down for two days to discuss algae bloom issues in Lake Erie. http://blackburnnews.com/windsor/windsor-news/2013/03/07/ijc-office-celebrates-40th/

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Can the Chicago River be saved? – Salon.com

Excerpt from Salon on Chicago river: More than a century ago in this exact spot, human ingenuity shaped nature to its will, smashing through the earthen barrier that separated the Mississippi River drainage area from the vast freshwater reservoir of the Great Lakes, stitching together the commercial energies and distinct ecosystems of the North American continent. The consequences of that decision are still playing out today in a metropolis where more than seven million people draw their drinking water from Lake Michigan — and where those same people pump their sewage back into the river. Myriad threats, from water pollution to flooding and invasive species, have made the question of what to do about the Chicago River one of the most important questions facing the city. And simply by asking it, Chicagoans are acknowledging a basic existential struggle. That struggle is between two competing visions. One is remedial and pragmatic, the province of engineers and bureaucrats. In their eyes, the river can and should be cleaned up only to the point where it can operate as a safe, functional waterway that exists to meet the demands placed on it by commerce, flood control, and the dispersal of wastewater. In the alternate vision, however, the river meets all of these demands — and more. Its proponents seek nothing less than to turn the Chicago River into a civic treasure, its newly cleaned banks lined with parks and homes and restored ecosystems, its very presence a clear and shimmering symbol of a great city built on making, trading, connecting: a symbol of American history’s inexorable flow toward progress. And in the bargain, they seek to make the river a living — and flourishing — example of environmental innovation and ecological stewardship, one that generations of Chicagoans will cherish. http://www.salon.com/2013/02/24/cry_us_a_river_partner/