Saving Ottawa River's endangered eels a slippery subject for conservationists
Ottawa Riverkeeper wants 'eel ladder' installed at Carillon Dam
When you think of campaigns to help save endangered species, you might imagine cute baby seals or cuddly pandas pulling on your heart strings.
But what happens when the animal in question is a slimy, slithering fish?
That's the challenge facing the Ottawa Riverkeeper in its most recent campaign to help restore the diminishing population of American eels.
"We totally understand someone's initial reaction being somewhat taken aback if you want them to care about eels, which might get a bad rep," said Matthew Brocklehurst, the organization's communications manager.
The American eel used to be the Ottawa River's most abundant fish, according to Brocklehurst, but the population has diminished by 99 per cent over the years.
For the Riverkeeper, the trick to getting people to care about the eels is to push past their initial reaction and educate them about the "fascinating creatures."
"Yeah, they're a little off-putting at times, but they're so fascinating, and their plight is so dramatic," Brocklehurst said.
He likes to list of a series of fun facts about the eels to get people interested. For example, did you know Pimisi station along Ottawa's Confederation Line is named after an Algonquin word for eel?
WATCH | Conservation group aims to restore eel population in Ottawa River
Eels' habits remain mysterious
Brocklehurst said the eels' migratory and mating habits are still largely a unknown to humans, adding to their mystique.
"There is still so many things we don't know about eels," he said.
The American eel migrates from the rivers of North America to the Sargasso Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents, to mate.
While the Ottawa Riverkeeper has done work in the past to help restore the local eel population, the organization is currently embarked on a campaign to see something called an eel ladder installed at the Carillon Dam.
Hydro dams are often blamed for the demise of eels in the Ottawa River, and the Carillon Dam, about 100 kilometres downriver from the capital, is set for renovations over the coming years.
The Ottawa Riverkeeper wants an eel ladder, which is essentially a series of pegs that allow the slippery fish to climb the barricade and continue on their journey east, to be included in the project.
"An eel ladder is the ideal solution to help this species," Brocklehurst said.
In terms of public relations it's also an upstream battle, so the Riverkeeper has issued cartoon videos to explain the eels' plight in an appealing way.
"We do sort of use that slight level of abstraction with the cartoony drawing," Brocklehurst said.
But for eel lovers, the animals do have their own unique beauty.
"There are sort of these flashes of silver as they swim upstream," Brocklehurst observed.
The organization's current campaign is asking residents on both sides of the river to write their MPPs or MNAs to demand an eel ladder.
Brocklehurst said the campaign has been working, so far enlisting more than 900 people to join the effort.
"Once people get learn a little bit more about eels, they do tend to care," he said.