15 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Fall 2023 use unencapsulated dock foam for dock (or floating home) construction. Working with Boating Ontario, we have urged the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to move this forward without further delay and will continue to press for action. Aquaculture In May we had a productive meeting with Ontario’s MNRF and MECP and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). As a result of discussions following that meeting, the Aquaculture Committee identified three priority research initiatives for Georgian Bay: ≥ Assessing the effect of open-cage fish farms on the dynamics of nutrients released into the environment and their impacts on water quality and on primary and secondary production ≥ Determining the extent of accumulated phosphorus release into the water from sediments at former fish farm sites and the rate of recovery of sediments and the associated benthic invertebrate community ≥ Determining the effects of farmed fish escapees from cages on native fish and the aquatic community For more detailed information on the environmental effects of open-cage fish farms in Ontario and recommendations for future research, please see here: bit.ly/GBAaquacultureeffects. Fire It looks like we dodged a bullet in Georgian Bay this summer. Even though fire ratings remained at high/extreme for much of the summer, we did not have the extended hot dry conditions originally anticipated and no major fires. Given that Canada experienced the worst fire season ever, we lucked out. We understand that local firefighting networks worked well for the few fires that we had, which is good to hear – congratulations and thanks to those who helped out their neighbours. For more information about lessons learned in our firefighting efforts, please see our article on page 4. Going forward, the potential for fires is expected to increase over time as a result of climate change impacts, so we must continue to build capacity with these local networks. Wake Summit GBA has joined Safe Quiet Lakes (SQL), the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Association (FOCA), Muskoka Lakes Association, and other lake associations in Quebec and Ontario to form a new coalition led by SQL to deal with better regulations for reducing the impact of wakes on your shorelines. The problems to be addressed include: ≥ New wakesurfing boats that have extra weight in the rear - they travel slowly without planing and can cause wakes up to six feet. ≥ Damage to docks and moored boats when any boat with a large wake travels too near any dock – the new wake boats have sometimes flipped boats up onto docks! ≥ Damage to shoreline habitat for such species as loons and turtles, and large increases in turbidity that have destroyed plant life and, as a consequence, fish populations. ≥ Lifestyle disruption – in some areas it is no longer safe to travel by canoe, kayak or paddleboard due to increased wake. Greater setbacks from shores and docks seems to be the solution. Finding a balance between having fun on the water and minimizing damage is not going to be easy. Although the problem is worse for inland lakes, there are many areas of the Georgian Bay shoreline that have sensitive habitat and/or many docks near high boat traffic channels. More to come on this. The above updates and some of the other articles in this UPDATE cover some of your, and therefore our, top priorities. We always strive to make sure that we are addressing issues of importance to you, so earlier this summer we put together a handout for your summer meetings: bit.ly/GBAvalue2023. Please continue to provide feedback to us, so we can make sure we are addressing the issues that matter to you.
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