Help save the American eel!

You have heard about the plight of the American eel for many years. Now there is a chance for real change. Add your voice to help this species return to our watershed!

You have heard about the plight of the American eel for many years. Now there is a chance for real change. Add your voice to help this species return to our watershed!

The greatest obstacle that the American eel faces as it migrates from the Sargasso Sea to its freshwater feeding grounds is hydroelectric dams. In the Ottawa River watershed, the Carillon Dam near the mouth of the river is the first dam they encounter, and therefore the most significant barrier to eel migration.

With a 750 million dollar renovation on the horizon for the Carillon Dam, this could be your best chance to help restore this important species to its traditional territory. Write to your Provincial Government via your MPP to ask them to mandate the construction of an eel ladder as part of the Carillon Dam retrofit. Both Quebec and Ontario have plans in place to help this threatened species – now is the time to put them into action!

After writing to your MPP, you can add additional pressure by writing to the Federal Government, via Fisheries and Oceans Canada. They have the power to require the installation of an eel ladder to protect this species – which is listed as threatened by COSEWIC.

The American eel population has already fallen by 99%! This culturally, historically, and ecologically important species is worth protecting, and still has a chance to recover. Constructing an eel ladder on the Carillon dam could provide our threatened and fragmented American eel population with the fighting chance it deserves.