Spiel Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 December 06, 2007 Eric McGuinness] The Hamilton Spectator Cootes Paradise is carp-free for the first time in years, which means plants in the 250-hectare marsh will again have a chance to grow undisturbed. A decade-long effort to get rid of the destructive alien species ended successfully when a strong west wind and the low level of Lake Ontario combined to push all the water in Cootes -- and all the fish -- through the Desjardins Canal into the main body of Hamilton Harbour last week. Royal Botanical Gardens staff lifted a grate in the carp-exclusion fishway to let them out. With the grate back in place, the destructive carp can't return. Tys Theysmeyer, aquatic biologist for the RBG and leader of Project Paradise that aims at restoring a healthy ecosystem in the shallow Cootes wetland, is as excited as a kid opening presents on Christmas morning. "It's been a tremendous struggle to get them out of there. Next spring the marsh will be fantastically different," he said this week. "I want to enjoy winter, but I'm so looking forward, I can't wait for spring. Fragile aquatic plants will finally get a shot." Most carp and other fish that spawn in Cootes migrate to the deeper harbour in winter, but some have remained behind since the fishway went into operation in 1997. A population once as high as 70,000 adults was reduced about 1,000 in recent years, but high water levels let them overwinter and reproduce in the marsh -- until now. Carp are bottom feeders that uproot plants and stir sediment, making the water cloudy, which further hampers plant growth. Ben Porchuk, new head of conservation at the gardens, says their absence is key to restoring the lush vegetation that once covered Cootes. "It should give us a taste," he said. "I'm just salivating at the prospect of the richness that will come back." Theysmeyer started studying Cootes for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1994, gathering information for the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, drafted to get the bay off the International Joint Commission's list of toxic hot spots on the Great Lakes. He was hired by the RBG in 1997, has worked since on Project Paradise and watched anxiously as a windstorm herded the last carp toward the Desjardins Canal last Wednesday. "The wind pushed out the last eight inches (20 centimetres) of water, leaving just wet mud across most of the marsh, but the last carp were extremely stubborn about leaving. The water was too muddy to see them beneath the surface, but at the same time too dirty for them to stay under, so they were porpoising up out of the water in front of the carp barrier in the hundreds. "We had removed one of the larger exclusion grates and were trying to herd them out. At sunset, when they were within 50 feet (15 metres) of the barrier, I put on my boots and tried to spook them. The water was rushing out and they were resisting, but they were all gone the next morning. "I'm sure there's the odd one left in a deeper pool, but we're basically carp-free. If there are a couple of little ones, they won't be able to reproduce." Theysmeyer said Cootes last drained empty in 1965 and before that in 1935. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 GOOD now the purple loosestrife can grow freely undisturbed by invasive fish....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BITEME Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 GOODnow the purple loosestrife can grow freely undisturbed by invasive fish....LOL HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA............YOUR KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJQ Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Sounds like good news to me.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucktail Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Well at least something good came out of the low water levels. Now they need to stock 100,000 northerns in there and let them take care of the carp in a few years. They will have all of Cootes for spawning., or would that make too much sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishermccann Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 In the past 2 or 3 years the purple loosestrife in my part of the kawarthas has all but disappeared ,why ? who knows but I am glad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 In the past 2 or 3 years the purple loosestrife in my part of the kawarthas has all but disappeared ,why ? who knows but I am glad. Maybe the carp ate em.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwc67 Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 In the past 2 or 3 years the purple loosestrife in my part of the kawarthas has all but disappeared ,why ? who knows but I am glad. they released two beetle species that have kept them pretty much in check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungelarry Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Paul and Ringo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burtess Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 (edited) December 06, 2007 Eric McGuinness] The Hamilton Spectator A decade-long effort to get rid of the destructive alien species ended successfully when a strong west wind and the low level of Lake Ontario combined to push all the water in Cootes -- and all the fish -- through the Desjardins Canal into the main body of Hamilton Harbour last week. Royal Botanical Gardens staff lifted a grate in the carp-exclusion fishway to let them out. With the grate back in place, the destructive carp can't return. It is good to see most of the carp were pushed out of Cootes Paradise, but them putting the grates back in place is bothering me. From the info I have got in the past, the grates are normally removed late in October and are place back in March some time. This is because most carp will stay in the bay during the cold months anyway, and there is nobody emptying the cages in the cold weather months. This allows steelhead a chance to enter Cootes and make their way up Spencers Creek in late winter / early spring. What is going to happen now when they enter the cages and there is nobody there to lift them over??? Burt Edited December 6, 2007 by Burtess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassloadingzone Posted December 6, 2007 Report Share Posted December 6, 2007 Carp Free water, wow what a consept, now if only we could drian them all out of every lake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted December 7, 2007 Report Share Posted December 7, 2007 sounds good to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappiesteve Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 Must a been a heck of a wind! What,Spiel,is Alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daplumma Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 What,Spiel,is Alive. What,Steve,is Alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappiesteve Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 Yeah,I,m here LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookslav Posted December 8, 2007 Report Share Posted December 8, 2007 they released two beetle species that have kept them pretty much in check Ya...and they eat your lawn as well LOL! Purple loosestrife is out of control down here along the Grand(K-Town) You don't even need to get out of your car to see it.... Just drive over the bridge at highway 8 by sports world next summer, and have a gander at our beautifull purple shore line. Not to jack this thread, but.... Here in K-town depending on the area you live, if you don't spray for white grub your lawn is toast. Thats thanks to the European Chafer beetle one of those beetles that was introduced to control...you guessed it the Purple loosestrife. I think I could learn to like the purple demon.... its better then paying for chemical treaments, or paying 3 times that amount for organic treatments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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