The eel will soon return to the Saint-Charles River

I’m not really stressed about whether the eel will go up [dans la rivière] one day. I firmly believe yes, Says Akion Cross-Louis Picard, a wildlife technician in the Nioventzio office of the Huron-Vented Nation Council.

In the last two years, Mr. Cross-Louis Picard and his small crew from Wendek set up aluminum settlement paths at two key locations on the St. Charles River.

The first is located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, on the Joseph-Samson Dam. The Second Highway 40 is located north of the Saint-Jack Dam.

The fish bass, made of aluminum, is mounted on the concrete of the dam. Once in use, a stream falls into the river at the entrance to the pass to attract eels, and then the flow of water moistens the sloping surface to help the eels move upwards.

Photo: Huron-Vented Nation Council

Simple in appearance, these displaced bass hold up confidence. They must allow the eels to cross the dams and then return to the Kabir Kuba Falls in Ventagai as is customary.

For the Huron-Vented Nation, the eel was once important. Our ancestors fed this type of fish.

Weak race

However, over the years, the construction of dams has decimated the habitat of this endangered species. The eel breeds in the Circassian Sea east of the Bahamas, but its offspring return to live in the soft northern waters.

Young eels, when they came to go up our rivers, hop !, there was a dam, they could not go up., Mr. Cross-Louis Picard explains.

That’s when we come in and arrange that they can [re]Recover their lost habitat.

Akian Gros-Louis Picard establishes the Saint-Jacques Dam Fish Farm.

Photo: Huron-Vented Nation Council

Excessive fishing has badly affected the American eel population, so it has status Special concern In Canada.

The upper reaches of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario have declined by approximately 99% since the 1970s., Can it be read in the public register of endangered species by the federal government?

The eel ate a big blow, Briefly Mr. Cross-Louis Picard.

A broad project

The Huron-Vented Nation, among others, has invested $ 37,500 in the project, with financial support from the city of Quebec, to reclaim Eel’s habitat on the St. Charles River.

The city and the nation have entered into an agreement through which the city provides financial assistance and the nation itself is the project manager., City spokesman David O’Brien says in an email.

However, the Huron-Vented Nation project is very comprehensive and aims to restore eel habitat in many waters located in the historically frequented area.

About twenty developments have been made on the various rivers from Portneuf to Saguenay. To do this, the Nation Fisheries and Oceans received nearly $ 1.5 million envelope from Canada in 2018.

In each body of water, it is necessary to identify existing barriers, map the habitats of the eagles, and then make observations after establishing the migratory deities. So far, they seem to be delivering the desired results.

We made a development in Saguenay, there were almost 150 eels in the installation in 72 hours.

For consumption?

In Quebec City, the eel has not yet been spotted on the Saint-Charles River, but only the Joseph-Samson Dam Fish Pass was in operation this summer. St. Joseph Dam will open next year.

To find out if eel can be re-fished by the Huron-Vented Nation in Kabir Kuba Falls, Mr. Cross-Louis Picard reminds us that this is not the primary goal and that the answer will come very soon.

Since it is a race that takes a long time to grow over 20 years, let’s see if our facilities are functioning and our efforts are improving the population. [d’anguilles]We will see it in 20, 40, 60 years.