Ottawa’s disappearing eel population is cause for concern
Posted Aug 2, 2011 04:33:46 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority said it’s concerned about the declining number of eels and it’s asking fishers, boaters and outdoor enthusiasts to report eel sightings.
Water quality and biology manager Michael Yee said the eel population has dropped by 99 per cent since 1970. He said the eel population is almost non-existent in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence water systems.
Some swimmers that don’t like the slithery, nocturnal creature may see this as good news, but Yee said the declining population is “catastrophic.”
“A fish that was one of the top-end predators is no longer part of the system. It’s not in the system doing what it was doing,” he said. “That makes the bio diversity a lot less.”
Yee said eels can’t get through hydroelectric turbines when they are migrating to the ocean. As a result, they are unable to get to breeding grounds and thousands of eggs never hatch.
He said eel populations have also been crushed by overfishing and pollution.
The conservation authority is asking anyone that has seen an eel to report the sighting, in order to track the endangered species.
Michael Yee can be reached at (613) 692 3571 ext. 1176 or by email at michael.yee@rvca.ca.
