November 2024 Newsletter
https://bit.ly/KWEFNov2024Newsletter
Included in this issue:
Is there Mercury in the Fish from Our Lakes?
KWEF's Rainfall & Temperature Data Logging Program
Have you seen the Ice Caves?
Is there Mercury in the Fish from Our Lakes?
Our Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) program has been completed for this year. Many thanks to all our Lake Stewards who help to make this valuable program possible! This program would not be possible without their assistance.
This is a question that has come up in conversation with people we have talked to around Kearney.
The answer can be found online in a very useful survey provided by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. The link is: https://ontario.ca/fishguide
For example, if you want to know about mercury in the fish from Beaver Lake, you go to the interactive map and search for Beaver Lake. There are four Beaver Lakes in Ontario, so you click on ours in Bethune Township and then on the Consumption Advisory Table. There are three tables for different species of fish found in Beaver Lake.
If you are concerned about eating a Smallmouth Bass caught in Beaver Lake, then you refer to this table:
This table indicates that if you are a member of the general population (not pregnant and are over 15 years old) and the fish is between 20 and 25 cm long, then you can eat up to 8 servings (of 8 ounces each) per month. The superscript of [1] after Smallmouth Bass indicates that the contaminate of concern is mercury. The guide includes an explanation of the meaning of each superscript. The guide also includes pictures of each species of fish to help identify what you have caught.
So, why do fish in Beaver Lake contain mercury? According to the guide, under Mercury in Ontario,
Mercury pollution is produced by:
natural sources, such as volcanic activity and forest fires
human activities, such as the burning of coal, metal mining and waste incineration (all of which contribute to a large portion of mercury pollution)
Ontario has the highest level of mercury emissions into the air of all the Canadian provinces. In 2014, Ontario accounted for 28% of national emissions, at 1.2 tonnes. That same year, the US emitted 50 tonnes of mercury and in 2010, China emitted 537.9 tonnes of mercury.
Mercury released into the air can remain there for six to 12 months and wind can carry it long distances. This means that the mercury emitted to the air in one country can travel to another country. 40% of airborne mercury deposited in Ontario comes from current global emissions created by human activity. The United States and China form a part of the two largest source regions for airborne mercury originating from human activity that is deposited in Ontario.
Once mercury gets into the environment, it remains there for a long time. Micro-organisms found in water, wetland and soil, typically convert mercury to methylmercury, a highly toxic form.
Methylmercury can build up in fish, shellfish and other animals that are higher up the food chain.
It is important that we understand where mercury pollution comes from and what its effects are, so that we can take appropriate action to reduce it. We also need to understand how the increase in extreme weather events as a result of climate change, food web changes related to invasive species and changes in water chemistry could increase mercury pollution in Ontario.
The information in this article comes from the fish guide published by the government of Ontario.
KWEF's Rainfall & Temperature Data Logging Program
Many of the new readers of our newsletter may not be aware that we have been automatically collecting rainfall and temperature data for several years now. Once we started looking at the Lake Partners (LPP) and Water Quality (WQM) data we were collecting, we realized that weather could have a significant impact on the interpretation of this data. A picture of the display and recording unit for the rain gauge data logger is on the left below and the sensor unit (white box on the pole) is in the picture to the right. The units communicate up to 300 ft via a radio link. The round tube-shaped unit is a manual rain gauge that reads to .01 inches and acts as backup for the automatic system.
The temperature data logger shown in the picture below is about 3 in. long. This unit takes a reading every 10 minutes and will store 32000 readings. The battery lasts over a year and is replaceable. The metal end is actually a standard USB connector that allows you to connect to a standard USB port on a computer and download the accumulated temperature data with a time / date stamp into a standard spread sheet.
Once the data is in the spreadsheet it can be graphed, max/min and average values and other information can be obtained. Once emptied the unit can be restarted to collect another batch of temperature readings.
Below are sample graphs of rainfall and temperature data for the months of September and October 2024 at Clam Lake. The raw data is stored in a spread sheet compatible format. The maximum temperature during that period was 79.0 F or 26.1 C – the minimum was 22.0 F or -5.5 C - and the average temperature was 52.8 F or 11.5 C. Total rainfall during that period was 163.4 mm or 6.43 inches and longest stretch without any rain was 11 days from September (10th - 21st)
Since Kearney covers quite a large area, it would be nice to have a second weather monitoring site – perhaps in the Grass, Loon or Sand Lake area for comparison.
Email me at Stan.kwef@gmail.com or call (705) 636-9530 if you are interested in hosting a second site.
Have You Seen the Ice Caves?
The ice caves are a popular local snowmobile destination on the Almaguin Snowmobile trails. They are created in the winter when water dripping from a rock overhang freezes to form a cave wall. The daylight shining through the ice wall make the ice caves a unique place to visit and explore.
If you want to visit the ice caves this winter, contact the Almaguin District Snowmobile Club at: https://www.nnta.ca/almaguin-district-snowmobile-club
The caves are located about 15 kilometers east of Sand Lake on the AL301 trail to Dewfish Lake. The trails are maintained by the snowmobile club and visitors should ensure that they have a valid snowmobile pass before making the trip.
