Spiel

Darn it, there's a hole in your woolies.

I'm sure that Mike is not making this a limited time offer John. Whether it be next spring or next fall, just take him up on the offer when you can. I guarantee you'll devirginize that float rod on your first outing with Mike.

Peter's Tackle & Live Bait - 22 Secord Drive, St. Catherine's ON (905) 934-2512 Day Hours Monday- Friday 9:00-6:00 Saturday 9:00-4:00 Sunday 10:00-3:00 http://www.peterstackle.com/

Well now I have something to think about today....

You would know....

I'm pleased to hear all went well Brian.

Too funny.... I'd jump all over this one John, can't go wrong!

Oh boy, it's been a while since I last splashed around in those waters but knowing when and where to be on that river can result in a spectacular number of hook ups. Of course I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Congrats on another stellar day of chrome.

Well congratulations Rick, that's awesome. If I may make a suggestion, go for the Simcoe whities.....I guarantee you'll love it.

That's a whole lot good fish'n right there. Very nice.

Thanks again everyone. Each day a little better than the previous. I think it'll be the boredom that does me in though, not the pain. That sounds a like a good time Phil, we'll see how I'm doing late in the ice season.

You my young friend have been truly blessed this past year. I'm very happy for you Tony. I can hardly wait to see how you'll up it for next year.

Said my piece Brian. I'm sure all will be well.

Scientists: Mayflies may amplify oxygen and algae problems, but don’t blame the bugs Dec. 3, 2009 Jeff Gillies / greatlakesecho.org Before taking this winged form, mayflies live burrowed in lake sediment where they kick up phosphorus. Photo: Michael Swart, via flickr Lake Erie’s pollution in the ’60s and ’70s killed off its mayflies, insects that spend most of their lives underwater before flying off in huge hatches that carpet coastal towns. But the bugs have returned in a big way. “I’ve seen people out there with snow blowers, blowing them around,” said Justin Chaffin, a doctoral student in the University of Toledo’s biology department. “If you walk down the sidewalk or a parking lot it’s like you’re walking on bubble wrap.” Cleaner water is responsible for the resurgence. But in a weird twist, the thriving insects may be a new cause of old environmental problems. Before mayflies turn into flying bags of bug guts, they live a wingless life burrowed in lake sediment. Scientists now suspect those burrows might contribute to a resurgence of low oxygen in the water, a problem they once thought was gone for good, according to two new studies published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. Here’s how: In the 1960s, phosphorus from farm fields, city streets and wastewater treatment plants fueled massive algae blooms in Lake Erie. Those blooms would die and the bacteria that ate them sucked oxygen out of the water. Without that oxygen, fish and other aquatic animals like mayflies died. Fish kills fouled beaches and mayflies all but disappeared. In the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. and Canada spent $8 billion to control phosphorus, spurring Lake Erie into recovery. By 1997, as many mayflies were burrowed in the lake’s western basin as there were before the species collapsed. But now Lake Erie’s algae blooms and low oxygen are back, and scientists aren’t sure why. More phosphorus isn’t going into the lake, yet the concentration of phosphorus in the water has increased. “The lake that died was better, but now the harmful algae blooms are back to where they were before phosphorus control,” said William Edwards, an associate professor of biology at Niagara University in New York. Since more phosphorus doesn’t seem to be coming from outside, Edwards and his colleagues turned to the lake bottom, where as many as 1,500 mayflies can burrow in a square yard of sediment. Though fish and aquatic animals breathe some of the oxygen dissolved in water, most is sponged up by the mud at the bottom of the lake, Edwards said. “The use of oxygen in a lake is really determined by how much is going into the sediment,” he said “That’s really the main sink of oxygen.” Edwards’ team filled containers with Lake Erie mud and water, dropping mayfly nymphs into some of them. The sediment with mayfly burrows consistently sucked up more oxygen than sediment without them. It’s not that the insects use up a lot of oxygen, but that their burrows help more of it go into the sediment. If mayflies act the same way in Lake Erie that they do in the laboratory, their tube-shaped burrows likely turn the lake bottom into a porous oxygen sponge, Edwards said. Mayfly nymph's U-shaped burrows expose oxygen-sucking sediment. Photo: Calvin R. Fremling “If you put a tube through the sediment, you increase the amount of surface area that’s available for the sediment to use up oxygen,” he said. And that’s not all. In a similar experiment, Chaffin found that a burrowing mayfly can kick up buried phosphorus. Once that phosphorus is back in the water, it can fuel more algae blooms. “There is an effect,” Chaffin said “I don’t know if it’s just a drop in a bucket, or if it is a main reason why we’d be seeing these blooms come back since mayflies have come back.” Even if the return of the mayflies has contributed to the resurgence of algae blooms and low oxygen, it’s not a sign that Lake Erie managers need to kick the bugs back out. “It’s not necessarily the mayflies’ fault that there’s so much phosphorus in the sediment,” Chaffin said. “The mayflies are going to do their thing if there’s a lot of phosphorus or not.” But it is a sign of the complexity of environmental problems and solutions. As scientists struggle to find the causes of low oxygen and the sources of phosphorus, they’ll need to consider the effects of animals on the lake, not just the effect of the lake on animals, Edwards said. “What we’re arguing is that these things need to be considered when we’re planning for the health of the lake,” he said. “We can’t discount this and expect to get the results that we want in managing the lake.” Mayflies are sensitive to changes in water quality, so an abundance of mayflies is a symptom of a healthy lake, Edwards said. “I grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, so I remember there being no mayflies,” he said. “So every time I’m wiping mayfly guts off my feet, I don’t get too upset about it.”

Reef cleanup bogged down Local funding key reason for delay November 24th, 2009 Eric McGuinness / Hamilton Spectator Construction design changes and a lack of local funding are being blamed for a big delay in the $90-million cleanup of toxic tar on Randle Reef in Hamilton Harbour. A timetable presented at this time last year said the environmental assessment would be complete and tenders called by August, with construction starting in spring 2010. Now, however, Environment Canada says it won’t have the assessment and final design done until early spring. It’s a significant issue because the underwater reef holds Canada’s second-largest deposit of coal tar after the Sydney Tar Ponds in Nova Scotia. Scientists say it’s too polluted for any life to survive. Until the contaminated sediment is removed or contained, the harbour cannot be removed from the International Joint Commission’s list of Great Lakes areas of concern, a move York University researchers say would be worth $1 billion to the city. Delay jeopardizes the city’s goal of having the harbour delisted by 2015. Jim Hudson, executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC), said: “I’ve asked both federal and provincial people what’s going on, but had no answer yet. I’ve asked if it isn’t time for citizens’ groups to start pushing and been told that’s premature.” East Hamilton Councillor Sam Merulla believes the lack of progress is due to “a power struggle between all stakeholders on who will be the lead agency.” He says the Hamilton Port Authority, which was to contribute $7 million and oversee construction, is concerned about the magnitude of the work and possible cost overruns. Marilyn Baxter, the port authority’s environmental manager, and John Hall, co-ordinator of the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, both referred questions to Environment Canada project manager Roger Santiago. Tracy Lacroix-Wilson, an Environment Canada media relations adviser, said she could not arrange an interview with Santiago and instead sent an e-mail saying it’s taken longer than expected “to develop the necessary agreements among the federal, provincial and local governments and other stakeholders, secure local funding and complete the engineering design and environmental assessment.” Wally Rozenberg of the Ontario Environment Ministry echoed that statement, saying every effort is being made “to keep moving this thing forward,” but it’s a complex project involving many partners. Ottawa and Queen’s Park have each pledged $30 million. The port authority hired former federal Liberal cabinet minister Tony Valeri to raise money locally, but won’t comment on the results. U.S. Steel Canada has said in U.S. financial reports that it inherited a commitment to contribute an undisclosed amount when it bought Hamilton steelmaker Stelco. Mark Sproule-Jones, McMaster University professor emeritus in political science and former BARC chair, said he doubts the city can afford to put much money toward the project, but he’s less concerned about delay than some because he disagrees with the plan to wall off contaminated mud rather than removing and cleaning it. The plan outlined last year would create a steel-walled containment facility around the most polluted 7.5 hectares west of U.S. Steel’s Hamilton Works at the foot of Sherman Avenue. Less-contaminated sediment would be dredged up and put inside, then capped with clean fill to create a cargo pier with a landscaped area facing the water.

Close Encounters With Chrome November 20, 2009 Rob Kolakowski / www.startribune.com There’s a mixed bag of steelhead and rainbows in Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Have you ever wondered where they came from? Lake Superior steelhead populations are largely supported by natural reproduction. These fish were transported from the west coast in the late 1800’s and have since adapted to their new environment. Some stocking still takes place in rivers that don‘t have sufficient natural reproduction. These fish usually come from established wild populations. Also Minnesota has been stocking Kamloops rainbows on the North Shore. I’ll get into details of the various strains later. Lake Michigan is more fertile and supports higher fish populations. It has plenty of naturally reproducing steelhead, although these populations are supplemented by heavy stocking around the lake. The wild fish came from stocks in the late 1800’s. Recently stocked steelhead and rainbow trout are of several different strains. You’ll hear them called Skamania, Chambers Creek, Ganaraska, Manistee, Kamloops, and Arlee. You’re probably wondering why I differentiate between steelhead and rainbow trout. This gets argued a lot, but here’s how I see it. Steelhead originally came from saltwater and rainbow trout originally came from inland freshwater lakes. In reality the difference doesn’t mean anything when your out fishing and having a good time. Here’s some details on the different strains I mentioned. The Skamania strain has it’s origins in the saltwater of Washington. They will typically run the rivers from June to September. Often called summer run steelhead. The Chambers Creek strain also has it’s origins in the saltwater of Washington. They will typically run the rivers from September to January. Often called fall or winter run steelhead. The Ganaraska strain comes from the Ganaraska River in Ontario which flows into Lake Ontario. These fish typically run the rivers from January to May. Often called spring run steelhead. The Manistee strain comes from the Little Manistee River in Michigan. They typically run the rivers from October to March. Also called Michigan strain steelhead. The Kamloops strain comes from Kamloops Lake in British Columbia. Steelhead often roam the open waters during their time in the big lake and are not available to shore fishermen for a good part of the year, so these rainbows were stocked to produce a near shore fishery. Often called Kamloops rainbows. The Arlee strain comes from Montana. These serve the same purpose as the Kamloops, to provide an near shore fishery. Often called Arlee rainbows. None of these fish are native to the Great Lakes and certainly the strains have crossed over the years so there are no clear blood lines. Wild populations have established where there is sufficient habit. Stocking is done when people ask for it. All these fish will be in the rivers to spawn come spring. For those that can’t get enough of these fish all you need to do is take a tour around the Great Lakes. You’ll find them offshore, near shore and in the tributaries during all months of the year. Part of the game is figuring out where to look.

Managing a Great Lake is no small task November 26, 2009 Craig Gilbert / www.midnorthmonitor.com Managing the many faces of the great Lake Huron is a "very challenging undertaking," but someone has to do it. Greg Mayne is a scientist with Environment Canada. On October 27, he opened the Friends of the Spanish River Area of Concern update symposium with a presentation on the bigger picture: The North Channel, Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. According to Mayne, Huron features four distinct geological attributes: the forests of the North shore, the plains to the south, Georgian Bay and the North Channel. He displayed photos illustrating the physical beauty of each area. Lake Huron is the third-largest freshwater lake in the world, containing about 3,540 cubic kilometres of water. Can you imagine an ice cube a kilometre across, tall and wide? Can you imagine 3,000 of them in once place? At 36,000 kilometres, its irregular coastline is the longest on the globe for a freshwater body. The lake's watershed is approximately 134,000 square kilometres in area. "(But) the population around the lake is minimal compared to Lakes Ontario or Erie, so it is in relatively good condition," Mayne said. In 2002, a bi-national agreement to take care of the lake was endorsed by the governments of Canada and the United States. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency's website, "the Lake Huron Binational Partnership effort focuses on pollution reduction activities in areas of obvious importance, such as Areas of Concern (AOCs), and directly pursues on-the-ground activities to protect areas of high-quality habitat within the Lake Huron basin. Existing stakeholder and agency forums are used as much as possible to support the goals of the Partnership. The Partnership maintains a close association with the Remedial Action Plan efforts in AOCs, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's Lake Huron Technical Committees, the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC), and domestic efforts that support the Partnership." The 2008-2010 action plan provides updated information on environmental trends, identifies priority issues, and promotes management activities to be pursued over the next two-year cycle. Consistent with an adaptive management approach, the action plan tracks progress on issues identified in the previous cycle, including contaminants in fish, changes in food web structure and protection of critical habitat. It has been expanded to address emerging issues, such as observed increases in near-shore algae and diseases such as botulism and viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS). According to Mayne, contamination levels in lake trout in Lake Huron have been steadily decreasing, but are still triggering fish consumption advisories. He said about six per cent of the problem is mercury and the rest is generally PCBs (94 per cent). Biodiversity changes are also a "pressing issue" for scientists studying Huron. Traditional predators such as walleye, trout and burbot are being replaced at the top of the food chain by introduced species such as Chinook salmon and the sea lamprey. There have also been "very significant changes at the bottom of the food web," according to Mayne. There has been habitat loss as wetlands are drained and in-filled, and the hydrology of rivers feeding into Lake Huron is changing; spawning areas are being clogged with zebra mussels, and human development has increased 85 per cent since the 1980s. "There are six areas of concern in Lake Huron," Mayne said. "There have been significant declines in the forage base for many species, such as the smelt and the round goby." The diporeia (a type of zooplankton) density for example, has dropped 93 per cent in the past seven years. "This is an astounding finding with significant repercussions," he said. "The quagga (similar to the zebra) mussel density has gone up from zero in 2000 to 'lots' in 2007, (so there is an inverse relationship between the two). The number of fish-eating birds has been increasing since the 1970s. The levels of PCBs in gull eggs sampled in three locations have been on a steady decline, but the concentrations of other chemicals are on the rise." That said, the quality of the wetlands throughout the North Channel, according to Mayne, surpass that of many others in the Great Lakes basin. A new framework focused on Georgian Bay is designed to engage towns and cities around the water body in its conservation. Incorporating conservation into a municipality's official plan is one example: environmental concern by design. "It is all about mobilizing the local communities around pressing environmental issues," Mayne explained. "As opposed to top-down, it's very grassroots. We want to integrate the interests of different communities in a collaborative way. It strongly promotes local restoration and protection initiatives."

End of Lake Erie? Asian carp could spell its doom Voracious species may have gotten past barrier and into Great Lakes Monday, November 30, 2009 Spencer Hunt / www.dispatch.com Jack Tibbels built his life and livelihood along the Ohio shore of Lake Erie, offering a marina, a motel and a fleet of six charter boats to people eager to catch walleye and perch. Now, he fears that his business in Marblehead and those of hundreds of his charter-fishing competitors around the Great Lake will sink. "If the Asian carp get in here, we'll all be out of business," Tibbels said. Tibbels' fears, which are shared by conservationists, scientists and government officials, appear closer than ever to reality with news that the voracious carp appear to have slipped past a Chicago-area electric barrier meant to keep them from the Great Lakes. Story continues belowAdvertisement Jeff Skelding, national campaign coordinator for the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, said these fish pose nothing short of an ecological disaster for the lakes. "If we let the Asian carp into the lakes, it could be 'game over,' " Skelding said. "There's nothing that can stop them." The Great Lakes are no stranger to invasive species. Experts estimate that more than 185 species of fish, mussels, plants -- even viruses -- that hail from Asia and Eastern Europe are in the lakes system, choking out native species. Jeff Reutter, director of the Ohio Sea Grant program at Ohio State University, said Asian carp could quickly become Erie's most-destructive invader and would join a list that includes zebra and quagga mussels and the round goby, a small fish from the Caspian and Black seas that out-hustles native fish for food. The Asian carp problem began in Illinois in 1993 when floods along the Mississippi River helped them escape from nearby fish farms. The fish typically grow to 2 to 3 feet long and weigh 3 to 10 pounds, but some have topped 50 pounds. The carp eat most of the food that native fish rely on. Asian carp are almost the only fish that researchers can find in many sections of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, Reutter said. State and federal officials installed two electrified barriers in 2006 in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal west of Chicago. The barriers worked until Nov. 21, when officials said that stream tests beyond the barrier found Asian carp DNA. Chris McCloud, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesman, said his agency will search the stream to see if it can find areas infested with Asian carp. "We have to find out exactly what we are dealing with," McCloud said. What would happen once fish are found is not clear. One option involves dumping a fish poison called rotenone into carp-infested areas. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will closely follow developments, said Ray Petering, the state's fish management and research chief. "There's nobody with a bigger stake in this than us here in Ohio," Petering said. Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes and is home to more than half the lake system's fish. Thousands of people are drawn to Erie, spending an estimated $1.1 billion a year on lodging, travel and food, for the chance to catch walleye, perch and other sport fish. Tibbels said the carp would undoubtedly change his life. "They would just about destroy this lake," he said.

Old fish makes new Great Lakes comeback November 16, 2009 / www.great-lakes.org LANSING—Lake sturgeon, one of the oldest surviving species from prehistoric times, is making a small comeback in the Great Lakes region. “They’ve increased about a couple of percent since their lowest numbers, but at least the populations aren’t going down anymore,” said Bruce Manny, a fishery biologist for the USGS Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor. The increase is due in part to a spawning project in Black Lake, an inland lake in Cheboygan County. According to a report in the Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 40 % of the lake sturgeon released into Black Lake as part of the project survived their first winter, but Manny said, there are no estimates on the actual number due to a lack of comprehensive studies. Gary Towns, the Southfield-based Department of Natural Resources’ lake sturgeon coordinator for Lake Erie, said industrialization has eliminated most of the sturgeon’s traditional spawning grounds. Towns said reefs built along the Detroit River are beginning to attract some spawning sturgeons. “They might all die or get eaten, but at least they’re spawning,” he said. According to Manny, there are about 2,000 sturgeon in Lake Erie, 20,000-25,000 in Lake Huron and 45,000 in Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago. “We’re hoping that things are turning around because they’re an interesting and critical part of the ecosystem,” Towns said. To aid the turnaround in population, the DNR enforces extremely restrictive fishing requirements for sturgeon, including a special license and limits on how many fish may be caught and held per year. Manny describes the fish as an environmental barometer that can be used to test the quality of drinking water. “If these fish can reproduce and thrive, we can say the source from which we draw our water is safe,” he said. Jim Boise, a fishery biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Waterford, points to a remediation site in the Trenton Channel on the Detroit River in Riverview as potential spawning ground for sturgeon. Chemical giant BASF Corp. cleaned up the site which Boase said is now regarded as a possible spawning area.

Walleye in Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay carry less PCB contamination than a decade ago November 16, 2009 / www.great-lakes.org Walleye swimming in Michigan’s largest watershed are 80 percent less contaminated with PCBs than they were in 1997, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. PCBs are toxic, potentially cancer-causing chemicals that were used in electrical insulators, hydraulic equipment and some paints. The U.S. and many other countries banned PCB production in the 1970s and 1980s PCB levels in Saginaw Bay walleye have dropped 80 percent since 1997, said study author Chuck Madenjian, a fishery biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Lakes Science Center. He credits the drop to a dredging project in 2000 and 2001 that pulled more than 340,000 cubic yards of polluted sediment out of the Saginaw River, the bay’s main tributary. “This dredging was really effective in bringing down those concentrations to some really low levels,” said Madenjian, That’s good news for Saginaw Bay’s world-class walleye fishery, said Michelle Selzer, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s coordinator for the Saginaw River and Bay Area of Concern. Areas of Concern are 43 highly contaminated sections of the Great Lakes designated by the U.S. and Canadian governments. “The fish are our ambassadors,” she said. “They’re telling us something.” What they’re telling us is that environmental laws like the Clean Water Act that crack down on industrial water pollution are working, she said. The laws aren’t perfect, but they give environmental agencies a chance to target and clean old pollution hotspots like the Saginaw River’s PCB deposits. General Motors Corp. factories and municipal wastewater treatment plants dumped PCBs in the Saginaw River beginning in the 1940s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1998, that agency, the state of Michigan and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe reached a settlement with General Motors Corp. and the cities of Saginaw and Bay City, Mich. to pay for the dredging. Though the PCBs were dredged nearly a decade ago, this new evidence of cleaner fish is still significant because scooping polluted dirt out of a waterbody doesn’t always mean wildlife gets cleaner, Madenjian said. “You would expect in general that it would happen, but sometimes you get mixed results,” he said. A 1997 project that pulled 100,000 cubic yards of DDT-laced sediment out of San Francisco Bay left some fish more contaminated than they were before the dredging. Madenjian tested fish from the Tittabawassee River, a tributary of the Saginaw River that eventually flows into Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. When Saginaw Bay walleye swim upstream to spawn, most head up that river system until they hit a dam on the Tittabawassee River on Dow Chemical Co. property in Midland, Mich., Madenjian said. “You have the bulk of the spawners from the entire bay being concentrated right there at this Dow dam,” he said. Dow Chemical is responsible for widespread dioxin contamination in the Saginaw Bay watershed. Dow, Michigan’s environmental agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reached a tentative agreement on a plan for the chemical company’s dioxin cleanup. The plan is open for public comment until Dec. 17.

Muddy Mudcat unveiled at last Novenber 18, 2009 MIKE SHEELER / www.dunnvillechronicle.com Muddy the Mudcat has finally been revealed to the world. Approximately 450 people turned out to see Muddy in all her glory on highway three just west of Dunnville. The flow of spectators grew to the point where OPP were called to the scene to help direct foot and vehicle traffic. Dave Welsh, an integral Mudcat Committee member who helped Muddy be possible, said a few words to the crowd. "This has been a long time coming. The idea came three and a half years ago." "This is a wonderful way to attract tourism, and Dunnville needs tourism." added Welsh. The original design for Muddy was to have the site built in the downtown core, but that plan had to be changed. According to Welsh Muddy will now bring people to the area and Dunnville's refurbished downtown will do the rest to attract people and business to the area. The choice to use a Mudcat for representation was an easy one for Dunnville due to its rich history through Mudcat sports teams, the Mudcat festival and the Grand River filled with catfish. The selection seemed only natural for some. There were numerous sponsors and volunteer groups that aided in concept, construction and announcement of Muddy but none was more instrumental, according to Welsh, than the Kinsmen Club who offered their facilities to hold the Mudcat Committee meetings. Aidan Long, the young boy who named the giant Mudcat, was present at the unveiling and was called before the crowd for a round of applause by Welsh. "What a fabulous turnout," said Don Edwards, speaking on behalf of MP Diane Finley, who couldn't attend. Haldimand Mayor Marie Trainer expressed her thanks and congratulations in front of the large crowd. "I want to be the first to thank the committee, the ones that had the vision to make this possible," she said. "They went out and helped raise money, thank you all," she finished. Mike Wakin, creator of Muddy spoke to the crowd next. "We did this to bring people to this community," he said. "Niagara, Grimsby, Hamilton. They don't have anything like this but Dunnville does," added a visibly emotional Wakin. "We have an area that is an hour drive from a million people." The hope is now that they will all come to see the great Muddy the Mudcat on the edge of the Grand River.

Power plant price climbs so eels can too November 26, 2009 MATTHEW VAN DONGEN / www.stcatharinesstandard.ca This eel isn't electric, but it is sparking changes to a planned hydro-power dam on Twelve Mile Creek. You may have never seen an American eel in Twelve Mile Creek -- the sinuous creature is rare and was recently added to the provincial endangered species list. Frank Perri, general manager of hydro dam proponent St. Catharines Hydro Generation, has never eyeballed an eel either. But experts say the creek is both home and highway to the elusive eels, so the planned four-megawatt green power facility will likely boast a million-dollar bypass. "I call it an eel-fish passageway," said Perri, who described it as a series of stepped "resting pools" to help creek denizens move upstream around the $38- million dam -- or downstream without being sucked into hungry turbines. Perri said he expects the project "to be closely watched" for its response to the new provincial direction to protect the endangered eel. The pricey channel is not exclusively reserved for eels, however. The bypass will also help spawning fish and prevent many aquatic movers-and-shakers from ending up as gull food under the dam. But as part of the project, Perri said various government ministries are also suggesting the addition of a specific "eel ladder" at the existing Heywood power plant in Port Dalhousie. Believe it or not, determined eels already climb the almost four-metre-high city weir in Port Dalhousie just to get into Twelve Mile Creek, said Ken Cornelisse, a planning supervisor with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. He said ministry sampling over 25 years has "consistently found eels" in the creek from Martindale Pond to the headwaters near Short Hills Provincial Park. Not in bunches, of course. Creek searchers are lucky to find a couple of the quick, often- small creatures in any given year, although one caught last year measured close to a metre in length. That's kind of the point, Cornelisse noted. "The American eel is endangered, which means the population is declining in Ontario. We need to maintain their access to their habitat and if possible improve that access." Ian Barrett has a soft spot for the plucky endangered American eel. The aquatic biologist with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority said the slippery creature will try to climb any barrier with a wet surface in its quest for habitat, sometimes even dragging itself over land to isolated ponds. That's usually at the end of an incredibly long migration from its birthplace in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, where they also return to breed and die. "You have to admire the adaptability of a creature like that," Barrett said. "They already overcome quite an array of challenges." The now-rare eel used to be common in Lake Ontario. Even in the 1980s, it was one of the top three most valuable commercial catches in Ontario's fishing industry. Perri said no plans for fish or eel protection are finalized yet. St. Catharines Hydro Generation hopes to submit a final environmental screening report for the hydro project early next year. Cornelisse said eel ladders are just one way the province is trying to help the population climb. But if the means seem too expensive, consider the eel is a top predator that likes to chow down on invasive species like the gobie. "It's important to maintain the biological diversity of species," Cornelisse said. "Eels are ecological indicators of environmental health."

Superstar, must have cool shades to go with cool hat....

Or all the time.

You seem to be having a number of "best days" lately David but this post is superb. That is an oustanding number of big eyes.