Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff are today being informed of the decision of the Government of Canada to close operations at the Experimental Lakes Area in Kenora, Ontario. In its decision, the Government has said that whole lake manipulative experiments are better carried out by universities and NGOs. This is despite a central mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to be managing resources with a whole-ecosystem approach.
Please take the time to organize with the scientific organizations you belong to, write your members of parliament in Canada, as well as Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield (keith.ashfi...@parl.gc.ca, Parliamentary Office, House of Commons, Room 107, Confederation Building, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6, Phone: (613) 992-1067, Fax: (613) 996-9955) with any comments you may have regarding this decision. The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) occupies a unique position, not only in Canada but in the world, as a dedicated research facility for ecosystem-scale experimental investigations and long-term monitoring of ecosystem processes. Operating for more than 40 years, it has and continues to serve as a natural laboratory for the study of physical, chemical and biological processes and interactions operating on an ecosystem spatial scale and a multi-year time scale. The decision affects not only the staff directly employed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, but also the multitude of international researchers who collaborate with scientists there, and who have used and continue to use the data in their analyses, contributing to thousands of publications in the scientific literature. Ongoing experiments, including the graduate students they support, are also at risk of being eliminated due to this decision. This closure, if it proceeds, will mark a significant setback for scientific research in Canada, North America, and the world, and will significantly impede the ability of scientists to be able to understand the impact of anthropogenic impacts on aquatic environments by eliminating one of the only facilities in the world where whole-ecosystem experiments can be conducted. ___ SCL Communications
