Severn Sound Welcomes Back the Walleye
For the past 20 years, black crappies have been abundant in the waters of southeastern Georgian Bay near Midland but now numbers are on the wane. For those who have sacrificed worm and minnow in the quest for this tasty spotted fish, there will probably be a twinge of regret.
For most, however, the black crappie's decline is being welcomed as one more sign that years of hard work and millions of dollars invested in the environmental rehabilitation of Severn Sound are paying off. The bonus is the return of the walleye, one of the famed game fish of the Great Lakes.
"In the 1970s, Severn Sound was famous for walleye," explained Keith Sherman, Coordinator of the Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan. "In the '80s, the walleye population collapsed and the black crappies moved in."
One reason was water quality. Walleye need it clean while black crappies, which thrive in murky, nutrient-enriched systems, found Severn Sound more and more to their liking. The bays and inlets bloomed with nuisance algae - "The Green Goo" as it became known locally - caused by high levels of the nutrient phosphorous. As it grew and then died the algae robbed the water of oxygen making it an inhospitable environment for all but the hardiest aquatic species.
Today, most of the algae is gone and fishermen are catching walleye again. For Keith Sherman, the return of the walleye and the decline of the black crappie are indicators that the environment is responding to treatment.
"There's still work to be done," said Sherman, "but I think that we can declare ourselves over the hump in remediation efforts and well on the way to restoration."
Implementation of the Severn Sound RAP began in the early 1990s, supported by all levels of government and local partners. The main problem identified in the RAP was eutrophication - excessive algae growth caused by an oversupply of phosphorus. The RAP also listed other concerns including shifts in fish communities, loss of fish and wildlife habitat to shoreline development and agricultural uses of watershed lands.
From its headquarters at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, the RAP office set about coordinating a variety of measures including sewage treatment plant upgrades, farm pollution control projects, improved storm water treatment, tree planting, shoreline rehabilitation, ecosystem monitoring and a public information service.
1997 saw the creation of Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA), a unique partnership among eight municipalities, Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of Environment and Friends of Wye Marsh Inc. (an environmental non-profit organization). The association's goals are to oversee the de-listing of Severn Sound as an Area of Concern and then to complete the transition from the RAP program to a locally sustained environmental office providing cost effective environmental management that will sustain improvements achieved though the RAP process.
The immediate impact of the SSEA has been to consolidate support for RAP activities from the public and the municipalities, which are now full partners in the process. The partnership agreement formalized with the creation of the SSEA has been a major contributing factor in the success of the Severn Sound RAP.
The association helps member municipalities in the planning, design, funding and implementation of environmental projects. For example, when the RAP began only one sewage treatment plant met the RAP's effluent quality standards. Now all nine STPs in the area measure up.
Recently, the four municipalities with significant areas of urban development turned their attention to the thorny issue of storm water treatment. This meant formulating a common management strategy, including a commitment to identify and deal with the storm water component of every municipal and private works project.
In the large rural areas of the Severn Sound catchment, farmers are being encouraged to do their bit for water quality through better manure handling methods, conservation tillage, treating milkhouse wash water and fencing cattle off from streams. "There is no set project to regulate those things in the rural areas so getting these ideas implemented is a process of friendly persuasion," said Sherman.
Once again, the spirit of cooperation forged within the Severn Sound Environmental Association has proved a valuable asset. "There are farmers on the councils of all our rural municipalities," said Sherman. "The association has proved a good way of reaching out to the rural community, and to the public generally."
As for the fishing community, they'll get the message when those big walleye start leaping into the boat.
Contact: Keith Sherman, Coordinator of the Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan (705) 526-7809.
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