Ottawa Riverkeeper supports…

Ottawa Riverkeeper supports OMNRF’s Fisheries Management Zone 12 plan for the Ottawa River and believe the plan and its 50+ management actions are a critical step towards protecting/improving the health of the river and its biodiversity.

We applaud the plan for its:

1) Emphasis on interjurisdictional collaboration among and engagement of key stakeholders (a necessity for any successful management plan on the Ottawa River).

2) Improved monitoring to identify and fill-in in data gaps on this traditionally data poor river.

3) Comprehensive list of management actions, all of which are necessary for the sustainability of the fish communities on the river.

Going forward we hope that:

1) Management actions will be prioritised not only for the sustainability of recreational fisheries, but for the sustainability/conservation of fish communities as a whole (including those species with limited recreational value).

2) The plan will recognize that benchmarks for individual species should not be based solely on the already altered conditions of the past few decades. Whenever possible, traditional ecological and anecdotal knowledge (and not just the limited scientific data) should be considered when establishing benchmarks.

3)The province of Ontario will recognize the importance of these management actions and will invest appropriate funds to implement them.

4) Ontario will secure commitments from both Quebec and the federal government to adequately support these mutually beneficial management goals.

[Original Comment ID: 193874]