Immediate action is needed…

 Immediate action is needed to protect Ontario's eel population. For far too long, the province's hydropower producers have been permitted to unnecessarily impede eel passage and fragment critical habitat. I support the following changes to the Government Response Statement:

  • Revise Action 7 to require specific and immediate reductions in the mortality of adult eels as they migrate through hydropower facilities.

 • Revise Action 8 to require immediate provision of upstream passage (e.g., eel ladders) for juvenile eels at barriers in the lower reaches of rivers in Ontario, including the Carillon Generating Facility at the base of the Ottawa River.

 • Under Action 9, commit to reviewing hydropower mitigation plans for American Eel, and requiring revisions or revoking exemptions when hydropower producers fail to take reasonable steps to reduce the adverse effects of hydropower facilities on the species.

  It is also important to note that eels travel primarily at night, when electricity demand across the province and in export markets is low anyway. Eel mortality is a largely manufactured crisis of power market structuring, and one relatively easily mitigated through regulatory reform, without adverse impacts for reliable electricity supply in the province.

  These small steps can make an enormous difference for the survival of the species and the overall biodiversity of the province's aquatic ecosystems!

[Original Comment ID: 211945]