On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:39:58 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:50:40 -0400, Wizard of Woodstock
wrote:

I've got to believe that there is some kind of preventative measure
they can take to lessen their impact on water intakes and such.

Engineering will eventually solve the water intake issue. Lake
Ontario has been a huge success story as far as I can see and local
residents agree. The lake is cleaner/clearer now than any time since
the early 50s and I'm seeing signs that other fresh water shell fish
are coming back also. When I was a kid Lake O's beaches were covered
with small shells at certain times of the year but that all went away
in the 60s as pollution of various types took over.

One of the reasons I was totally steered to salt water once I visited
Florida is the abundance of life in the salt.
Fresh water is sterile in comparison.
Great progress has been made bringing the Great Lakes back to life,
and there are plenty of fresh water lakes and streams I would fish,
but I'll take the salt.
Lake Erie seems far the best of the Great Lakes for fishing, but
that's only a guess from reading.
When I was at U.S. Steel at Chicago's South Works in 1968 the DNR's
(think it was Illinois and Michigan doing most of it) started the Coho
Salmon program, and some would show up in the cooling water intake
strainers. Saw them.
I was real happy to see them, but before I could start fishing for
them the news came out that they were loaded with PCB's.
Most of that came from the OMC plant in Waukegan, I think.
Anyway, I never even considered fishing in Lake Michigan when that
news broke. Still producing and using my semen then.
Think I was berthed in Toledo with Cleveland Tankers when the Cayahoga
river caught fire in Cleveland 4 or 5 years later.
What do I make of it?
Lake Erie Walleyes are tough critters!

--Vic