Voyagers aboard the Canada C3 vessel were treated to a slippery, hands-on encounter with a few American eels in early June as the ship made a stop in eastern Ontario.

The vessel, a former Coast Guard icebreaker, is in the midst of a 150-day, coast-to-coast-to-coast journey from Toronto to Victoria via the Northwest Passage, in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday.

Canadians of all stripes and backgrounds, including teachers, scientists, Indigenous members, and youth ambassadors, have been invitedto take part in the 23,000-kilometre trip, which seeks to inspire a deeper understanding of the country’s diversity, its relationship with Indigenous communities, and the environment. Another goal of the expedition is to highlight Canadian research along its course.

On a recent stop to the Glenora Fisheries Station during the first of 15 legs on the route, expeditioners got a chance to learn more about a research program conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and OPG on the long, snake-like American eel.

The program tracks the downstream movement of migrating eels on the St. Lawrence River and seeks to reduce the impact of their passage through hydroelectric generating stations. The endangered species are native to the east coast of Canada, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence.

“Most of the participants of the C3 expedition had never seen an eel,” said David Stanley, Senior Environment Specialist with OPG, who was on hand to greet the travellers.

“Participants were from across Canada, including Calgary, Yellowknife and Vancouver, so they were amazed at the spawning migration and biology of eels.”

OPG, in partnership with the DFO and MNRF, continues its efforts to protect the eel population in the St. Lawrence where it operates the R.H. Saunders Generating Station.

“We’re inserting small acoustic transmitters into the eels that will allow researchers to track the eels on their downstream migration all through the St. Lawrence,” Stanley said. This helps identify the paths of eels with the ultimate goal of capturing them before they pass through hydroelectric stations and relocating them farther downstream.

The “tagging” process was demonstrated to the voyagers of the C3 as a few American eels had acoustic transmitters implanted by MNRF staff. The C3 participants then helped release the eels back into the water on the Bay of Quinte to begin their downstream migration to the ocean. The program saw a total of 50 eels tagged and released by the end of June.

“This project is really a collaborative, equal partnership,” Stanley said. “All the agencies cooperate and share data as we track each of the fish as they migrate.”

It’s an important initiative that helps give the American eel a fighting chance. The fish face a tough life from the outset.

Born near Bermuda in the Sargasso Sea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean, currents carry baby eels up to North America where they drift toward the shore and grow in freshwater for up to 20 years. The eels complete their life cycle by migrating back down to the Sargasso Sea where they spawn and die.

CANADA C3 VOYAGERS LEND A HAND FOR EELS

An MNRF staff member displays an American eel.

A C3 voyager helps release an eel back into the water.

The Canada C3 vessel is journeying coast-to-coast-to-coast.@opg @opgpics