Selected Content

• Chemical Contaminants Disrupt Reproductive Function in Male Fish in the St. Lawrence River

  This study presents information about endocrine disruptors acting on the sexual differentiation of the male of a freshwater fish species, the spottail shiner.

• Could Zebra Mussels Help to Monitor the Contamination of the St. Lawrence River?

  A study, led by Environment Canada in collaboration with McGill University, to determine whether zebra mussels could be used to monitor contaminants that affect aquatic organisms.

• Ecotoxicology of Biotechnology Products: The case of Bacillus Thuringiensis

  This project aims to determine whether the bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin and its gene, released through the spraying of biopesticides and the cultivation of transgenic corn, are present in the aquatic environment and in what concentration.

• Ecotoxicology of Urban Effluents

  The purpose of this project is to study the effects of urban effluent on the elliptio complanata, a freshwater mussel found in the St. Lawrence River.

• Effects of Water Level and Flow Fluctuations in the St. Lawrence River on Fish Health

  This project aims to determine the impacts of fluctuating water levels and discharge rates in the St. Lawrence River on the health of fish.

• Effects of Water Levels on Fish and Their Habitats

  Research scientists studied the influence of water-level fluctuations in the St. Lawrence River on fish abundance, migration and health, as well as the quality of their habitats.

• Harvesting Shellfish from the St. Lawrence River

  The main purpose of this harvesting is the bacterial monitoring of the water quality in areas where there is harvesting and production of bivalve molluscs, particularly mussels and clams.

• Hormonal Disruptions in the Freshwater Mussels

  This research conducted by Environment Canada near the Montreal municipal effluent outfall shows that substances in the wastewater can so disrupt mussel hormonal systems.

• Impact of urban effluents on fish health

  The purpose of this project is to assess the impact of urban wastewater on fish health.

• Interactions between Pollution and Parasitism in Fish

  According to research results published in 2005 by a team at Environment Canada, the combined presence of contaminants and parasites increases tissue stress in fish.

• Is Contamination Declining in St. Lawrence River Fish?

  Environment Canada studied variations in concentrations of contaminants in specimens of six species of fish taken from lakes Saint-François, Saint-Louis and Saint-Pierre, as well as at the town of Saint-Nicolas.

• Pathological Problems in Lake Whitefish in the St. Lawrence River

  Examinations performed on Lake Whitefish in the St. Lawrence River pointed to the presence of pathological problems in this fish, whose range stretches from Canadian fresh waters to the U.S. Great Lakes.

• Results of a Fish Monitoring Project at a Reference Site in the St. Lawrence River

  One of the objectives of the fish tagging project was to track the evolution of fish communities in the St. Lawrence River.

• Shellfish Water Quality Protection Program on the West Coast of Canada

  This jointly administered program is responsible for controlling and improving the sanitary practices found in molluscan bivalve shellfish industries of Canada and the United States.

• The Commercial Fisheries in the St. Lawrence River

  This study contains information on commercial fishing in salt water conducted primarily in the maritime areas of the St. Lawrence, on the North Shore, in the Gaspé region and the Magdalen Islands.

• The Decline of the American Eel in the St. Lawrence River

  This presents a joint research from Environment Canada and the Quebec Aquarium on the decline of most abundant fish species in the St. Lawrence River, the American eel.

• The Influence of Water Levels on Zebra Mussel Colonization of the St. Lawrence River

  This document contains results of research about the drift and attachment of zebra mussel larvae in the fluvial environment that are subject to seasonal variations in flow.