On Thu, 25 Dec 2003 03:07:26 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:
.. At least we don't get zebra
mussels.

yeah...welcome to my world...They are mainly a hassle for freshwater
intakes and so on. Remarkably, at least on the superficial level, they
have "cleaned" up Lake Ontario's water remarkably in the sense that
they've sucked up so much biomass out of the water that the clarity of
the water off Toronto is now quite impressive.

I believe this has led to the rediscovery of several near-shore
wrecks, simply because you can see, on calm days, straight down
fifteen feet or so to the sandy bottom.

This was unheard of even 10 years ago around here. Of course, the
local minnows and other small fish are suffering from the dearth of
zooplankton. The accidental introduction of the the Caspian goby...a
particularly voracious little *******...hasn't helped.

So we are presented with a visibly cleaner lake bereft of important
native species: whether this is in sum good or bad remains to be seen.
Personally, I can now more easily locate the tools I drop over the
side at dock...that's about it for me.

R.