STOP DUCKS FROM BEING MAIMED: BAN FISHING AT PARR LAKES

Parr Lake North and Parr Lake South are designated fishing areas (Zone 16) by the Province. The people who fish there are vastly irresponsible and are continually abandoning fishing line and hooks so as to endanger wildlife (and people).

I have seen numerous DUCKS MAIMED BY FISHERMEN with HOOKS THROUGH THEIR BILLS OR BODIES.

I live next to Parr Lake North and have occasion to walk through it and Parr Lake South, daily. Literally EVERY DAY (if it is not winter) I clean up a significant amounts of abandoned fishing line. LITERALLY. EVERY. DAY. On MOST DAYS, I also find one or more abandoned hooks. I have seen hooks stuck in wildlife too many times to count.

Because I am such a frequent visitor to the lakes, I have had the opportunity to observe the behavior of the people fishing. NO ONE fishes responsibly. I also have a very good idea of when new line and hooks are abandoned (because I just cleaned a given spot the day before) and who left them there.

I have found HUNDREDS of hooks at the Parr Lakes over the past two years and collected (ie. kept) DOZENS of them.

I very much doubt that the most of these people even have fishing licenses. If they do, they are clearly ignorant or in wilful defiance of the responsibilities that come with possessing such a license.

I have contacted both the City of Brampton and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The City was sympathetic, but lacks the authority to enforce the By-Law (161-83 Part 4: CONDUCT OF PERSONS USING WATER AREAS, Section 5. General Restrictions, Paragraph 8) which would ordinarily prohibit fishing, because the Parr Lakes are designated as fishing areas by the Province.

To paraphrase The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, they lack the means to provide any meaningful enforcement whatsoever. This is unacceptable.

The Parr Lakes are small, man-made lakes that directly adjoin people's back yards. Theywere created for stormwater management (ie. after heavy rainfall, sewage flows through). The fish there should not be eaten and are almost all too small to legally retain. Nonetheless I have severally witnessed people removing small fish from the lake or using them as live bait.

As you might imagine, no one comes from a large distance away to fish at the Parr Lakes, so it is not as if they are attracting tourists or revenue. It is 99% the same people who fish there. They leave line and hooks everywhere, even many meters from accessible fishing spots, and many meters from the lake itself. Some fishing lures have multiple barbs and do not lie flat on the ground. People and their children sometimes walk barefoot at the lakes. I have twice been impaled by hooks concealed by leaves of bushes I was passing through. I don't even care that I got hooks stuck in me, but a hook that stuck in me could have just as easily stuck in someone's child playing hide-and-seek, etc. If that happened, maybe someone would pay attention...

For two years I have frequented Parr Lake North and Parr Lake South. In both years, I have seen several animals--mostly ducks--maimed by fishing hooks. This is NOT OKAY.

The people who fish at the lakes CANNOT BE TRUSTED to act responsibly and the Ministry CANNOT PROVIDE ANY MEANINGFUL ENFORCEMENT WHATSOEVER. So THE VERY LEAST THEY COULD DO is to remove Parr Lake North and South from the list of designated fishing areas so that the City could enforce it's By-Laws.

It would also be nice to get some signage that says FISHING PROHIBITED. Talking to you City of Brampton.

So please HELP PROTECT THE WILDLIFE AT THE PARR LAKES by signing, sharing, and letting the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry know that the existing state of affairs is unacceptable.