Dredging of Mindemoya River Important to Salmon Population

Thanks to the efforts of Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association and the municipality of Central Manitoulin, salmon are now able to spawn in the Mindemoya River.

“A lot of salmon have made it into the river since the dredging took place,” stated Seija Deschenes, project coordinator of Manitoulin Streams, on Monday. This comes after last week’s work that helped clear the Mindemoya River to allow salmon to get into the river to spawn.

“Providence Bay has a dynamic beach,” stated Ms. Deschenes. “With the current and the winds the sand drifts in front of the Mindemoya River every year. That means the water trickles just over the top of the sand and salmon which are trying to get up stream to spawn, can’t. So every year, Manitoulin Streams puts in a work permit to the MNRF (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) to dredge the open mouth of the river so the fish can access the river—move up the river where the prime spawning area is.”

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Ms. Deschenes said Manitoulin Streams partners with the municipality of Central Manitoulin, “who provide their excavator operator John Graham, who does a great job. They open up the mouth of the river deep enough so the fish can access the river to spawn. This all helps improve the fish population and the salmon fishery is really important to tourism on the Island. We want to help make sure we are getting good year classes into the river from the bay.”

Source: Manitoulin Expositor