CBC News – Slush, snow delay ice fishing season at Petrie Island
Click here to read the article on CBC News
This new article from CBC News discusses the impact that the warmer winter season is having on ice fishing. The Petrie Island marina, a small fishing village in Ottawa’s east end, is seeing shockingly low numbers of fishers due to unreliable ice conditions. Normally, there would be over 200 huts on the ice but this season there are barely over a dozen. This is due to the layer of snow and slush on the lake, making it hard to tow the huts out onto the lake.
As safety is a top priority, ensuring the ice thickness is up to the standard is crucial. Ideally, temperatures should drop below -20C to form a thick base ice layer, but this hasn’t been the case yet this season. Luckily, colder temperatures are expected later this month and the fishing season may gain some momentum.
The Canada1Water Project aims to give Canadians like the Petrie Island Ice Fisherman’s Associations a forecast of how climate change will impact water resources, permafrost, land temperature and snow depth to the end of the century. The project will help us all adapt to climate change and find solutions to ensure that communities can continue to make the most of our shared water resources.
Click here to read the article on CBC News
“Phillips said the large amounts of rain and snow this winter, in combination with unusually warm weather have resulted in a repeated pattern of “freezing and thawing and refreezing”, producing an “ugly mixture” of condensation.”
“He added that a number of regular fishers have decided to stop waiting for better ice conditions and have instead flown out to warmer climes to spend their time there.”
“According to Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips, this winter is the third-mildest the city has seen in over a century.”
Just over a dozen ice fishing huts are on the ice at the Bay off Petrie Island, where over a 100 stood last winter. These ones here wait on the shore nearby for colder temperatures. (Hallie Cotnam/CBC)