New species of fish found in Port Lands previously contaminated after the Lakefilling project

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Nature is healing!

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New species of fish have found a home in the city’s once heavily polluted port lands.

Waterfront Toronto recently released a video highlighting the “initial success of our new fish coves in Port Lands”.

“Restoring a natural shoreline creates ecological habitats for all types of wildlife,” they said. “T This video shows three species of native fish that were not found here before using a newly created habitat: largemouth bass, bluegill, and pumpkin seeds. “

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Construction of the project began on Cherry St. with the filling of the lake in winter 2017 and was completed in March 2020.

The completion of the west cove happened two years ago ” in an area that previously offered very poor fish habitat, ”said Waterfront Toronto.

” The straight, vertical walls of the Keating Canal were unattractive to fish, like an unfurnished house, for decades as a result of lake filling and industrial operations in Toronto’s old Inner Harbor. Now, we can see that the fish are using their new fully furnished habitat (rocks, logs) and they are coming back and thriving, ”they said.

“The coves were designed by Interfluve and Michael Van Valkenburg Associates and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Aquatic Habitat Toronto have been part of the collaboration and team effort to bring this project to life.”

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As noted, the Keating Channel previously had one of the lowest fish diversity in Toronto’s Inner Harbor.

It will now be the only natural shoreline there and will also form the foundation of the future Promontory Park.

Lakefilling created new land around Essroc Quay and stabilized the aged concrete walls of the pier so they would not collapse in the event of a water surge.

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It also made it possible to realign Cherry St. and build a new, higher bridge over the Keating Canal.

Ashbridge’s Bay Marsh was completed through the Ashbridge Bay Reclamation Program, which was completed in the 1920s in response to heavy pollution in the area.

It was the largest engineering project on the continent at the time, filling an area from Cherry to Leslie Sts. (formerly the largest wetlands in the Great Lakes) to create the Industrial Port District, according to the University of Toronto .