22 June 2017…

22 June 2017

We are an agency, created and supported by the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques du Québec whose mission is the protection, improvement and promotion of water resources in 7 watershed draining in the Outaouais river plus a significant portion of that river. We are very preoccupied by the possibility that the fisherman can legally transport live baitfish from what is called the VHS management zone to the Outaouais river. The Outaouais river, and the Outaouais region, are still relatively free of exotic species and VHS exempt. For us the Outaouais river is, at the same time, the end point of the 7 watersheds under our responsibility but also the entry point of exotic species coming from Ontario or southern Québec. Preventing the introduction of exotics is at the hearth of our actions. Allowing sport fisherman to transport live bait from the VHS management zone to the Outaouais river would increase the risk of introduction of that disease and other exotic species in the Outaouais river. It could have significant effects on the biodiversity of the river, a biodiversity which, in Québec, is second only to that of the St-Laurence river. And also it increases the risk for the tributary watersheds, a risk we cannot take. In our opinion the proposed regulation should be modified to make it illegal to transport live bait from the VHS management zone to the Outaouais river. For the Agence de bassin versant des 7,

Giorgio Vecco

General Manager

[Original Comment ID: 209804]