Exclusive – Port Hope Mayor Bob Sanderson said if he had his wish, salmon fishing would be banned along the Ganaraska River through town.
Sanderson may also have the help from Premier Doug Ford on his side.
MPP David Piccini facilitated the meeting held by way of video last Friday, October 9, 2020 with elected officials of the riding discussing matters mostly concerning COVID with Premier Ford.
“The Premier asked for input and I indicated it would be much appreciated if he could talk to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about the fishing situation in Port Hope.”
“My specific request is that I would love to see fishing become a sanctuary or closed down between the fish ladder and the (train) trestles.”
Sanderson said he’s speaking only about the salmon fishing.
The Port Hope mayor said with so many visitors coming to town it would be a great educational opportunity for people to see the migration.
“But it’s always so crowded on the river. It’s not just a COVID situation. It really just seems to be something that is fairly distressing to everybody who sees it.”
Sanderson said he understands the anglers point of view, “but in the Fall it’s out of control.”
From the conversation, Sanderson believes the Premier understands and he committed he will talk to the Ministry about it.
“The salmon is where we have the problem. My primary request would be in the Fall when we have the salmon run specifically.”
With the pandemic, Sanderson said it seemed contradictory the government was saying that people need to space out from each other, but on the other hand they don’t close an area where a lot of the time people are standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
“Without a pandemic we would love to have people come and observe the migration. But the Ganaraska River has all these pools and its designed for fish to come up. But it’s not a deep river. So for example 30 people are standing around a pool with a bunch of salmon. It sort of feels like sometimes your more at the circus when they have those fish games.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
