MNR has nothing to do with lampreys

Dear Editor:

I've been following the 'cormorant controversy' for quite a few years. But I'd like to clear up a confusion brought up in Dave Hall's letter ("Stories on cormorants, lamprey highlight MNR double standard," May 18) that the MNR has anything to do with lamprey control. They don't. The funds come from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and are administrated in Canada though the Federal Fisheries and Oceans Department and applied to the Canadian side of the Great Lakes by the Sea Lamprey Control Centre of Sault Ste. Marie, located at 1 Canal Drive.

Many others may likewise be unaware of this, though you've published many articles and photos of lamprey control. But Dave's letter brings up an interesting concept. Perhaps the more effective way to achieve the goal of cormorant control is to approach the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and Canadian Fisheries and Oceans and others. There are a lot of similarities between lampreys and cormorants, as Mr. Hall indicates. Cormorants are under international treaty between Canada, US and Mexico. Perhaps either Fisheries and Oceans or the Canadian Wildlife Service should be involved in control efforts. Does MNR even have jurisdiction in this regard?

The sharing of responsibilities on the Great Lakes goes back a long ways, when Upper Canada started passing fishery laws before the Dominion of Canada was formed. There were lawsuits that went up through the Canadian Supreme Court and were finally ruled on by the Privy Council in London, England. The result was a strange mixture of overlapping responsibilities which have had long-term consequences. There are federal-provincial conferences which attempt to clarify the responsibilities. Quite a few years ago I remember Assistant Deputy Director Art Holder spending many days in court when there was an attempt to sort out what responsibilities the federal government could delegate to the province. This was a messy process in my recollection. Why don't you put a good, hard-driving reporter on this topic to update and verify the details?

Meanwhile, the Fish and Game Clubs should start writing letters to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Canadian Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Wildlife Service, etc. to get other agencies that may be far more effective in dealing with the problem and have the authority to do something. The extremely sad meeting that occurred recently was a shambles of inadequate response by MNR. I want to write another letter with my views on "MNR missing the boat" but that's another day and a longer letter.

Cheers, from an old South Baymouth fish researcher,
Jim Reckahn
Elliot Lake, ON

This letter to the editor appeared in the Manitoulin West Recorder on June 3, 2005.