Photo Credit: Sean Carthew
The salmon run on the Ganaraska River in Port Hope has been attracting visitors to the area for years, both those looking to catch a glimpse of the Coho and Chinook Salmon making their way to spawning grounds further upstream every September, as well as the many fisherman looking to take a few home for dinner.
In the last few years though, local fishing enthusiast Sean Carthew has seen more and more fisherman ignoring even the most basic rules of the sport, leaving carcasses and roe (eggs) to rot on the riverbank, overfishing the river and other violations. With only a handful of Ministry of Natural Resources officers available to enforce the law, many unscrupulous fisherman are taking advantage in what Carthew refers to as “looting behaviour”. He’s seen people using nets, and the unethical and illegal practice of “snagging” fish become almost common place.
Carthew told us that what motivated the petition was seeing the aftermath of neglect left my those with apparently no concern for the law.
Sean spoke about this years clean up.
Carthew, along with volunteers like Port Hope Councillor Adam Pearson, work every year to pull out the fish hooks and lines as well as the carcasses of dead salmon from the riverbanks in town.
Sean told us that if shutting down fishing on the Ganaraska is what’s required, then he’s on board.
We asked Sean what he hoped the petition would accomplish.
Carthew says that this is not a new problem, but it’s past time that something is done about it and he hopes that this petition will start conversations towards a solution.
Currently the petition has more than 12, 200 signatures to date. To add yours, use this link: Supporter comments · Oppose fishing from the Port Hope Dam to Lake Ontario in Port Hope. · Change.org
Written by Joseph Goden
