Wawa-news.com You can't hear the 'big picture'!
Congratulations to the organizers of the 38th Wawa Salmon Derby and to the anglers who enjoyed three sunny, calm days on the crystal clear waters of Michipicoten Bay.I walk the shore of this bay every day. The day after the derby I was prepared for my usual pick up of plastic and other litter. This year, only one small bag along a one kilometre section of the shoreline. Impressive.
An ugly, polluting aspect of the Salmon Derby does persist. I picked up 53 cigarette butts along that same stretch of Michipicoten Bay. This may not sound like much but the impact of cigarette butts, over time, will contribute to the destruction of those same clear waters and abundant fish life.
“There’s something about flicking that cigarette butt,” says Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action. “It’s so automatic.”
Cigarette filters are made of a plastic called cellulose acetate. When tossed into the environment, they dump not only that plastic, but also the nicotine, heavy metals, and many other chemicals they’ve absorbed into the surrounding environment.”. Click this link to read more (
I know most of the boaters are conscientious. I know the organizers of the Salmon Derby work hard to make the derby a success. I see the OPP boat out there ensuring safety rules are obeyed. I know education is the first step to changing old habits.
I am now asking that furthers steps be taken to keep precious Lake Superior waters clean and healthy for generations to come. Would the the OPP, MNR and Oceans and Fisheries step up to help?
My suggestions to the organizers of the Derby is that each boater be given a a “butt can” to be used over the weekend along with a “ no butts in the water” clause added to the fishing guidelines. I am happy to supply the “butt cans”.
I wanted to suggest an automatic disqualification from the Derby for anybody who pollutes, but my proof readers thought that was a bit strong. 😊
Sincerely
Shirley Hale
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I think the auto disqualification is a great idea! It’s a no-brainer that littering is wrong, but somehow some smokers feel that butts are an exception to this. Let’s make it a disqualification rule for the Ice Fishing Derby as well! Stop littering your butts!
Agreed! Recently my beautiful 14 year old niece spent an afternoon at Sandy Beach cleaning up a “plastic debris spill” and collected a big garbage bag full of what looked like household garbage thrown from a boat. She collected it all, including tons of butts, and was happy to contribute to keeping her favourite beach trash free. The next day she was at the beach and had her Bluetooth speaker on at a moderate level and a “Karen” came along and told her “no music allowed, it’s not that kind of beach”. The woman was smoking a cigarette and was not only polluting the air but likely discarded her butts in the sand. Disgusting. My niece was shocked and embarrassed and did not tell us about this idiot woman until later that evening. My point? Smoking is gross and kills and discarded butts kill wildlife and damage the fragile ecosystem. Ban smoking on all beaches and punish the hell out of people littering with their butts on all the beaches and in all the derby’s. This is 2020. Nobody in their right mind is still smoking! If you’re smoking now in this day and age, you are doing something so socially unacceptable that people wonder about your mental health.
you should check out the new storm water run off, the town has installed into Wawa Lake.
I find it fascinating that it’s always the same user group that smokes. I was totally oblivious to the fact that it was always the salmon fisherman that did that, and not the beach goers, kayakers and people paddling canoes.
Interesting to note though that derby weekend saw winds blowing off shore, if the wind was even blowing at all
In all groups people “flick there butts”!
I walk along Sandy Beach by 7:30 am to pick up litter just about every day of the month. I have been doing this most days since the 1980’s.
So far this summer (until August 25) I have picked up 455 butts. Of those butts, I had picked up 130 butts at the High Water Mark (how high the waves go on the beach).
During the Fishing Derby the winds were offshore. No butts at the High Water Mark .
On the morning of August 26 I picked up only 3 butts at the High Water Mark – very little wind.
In the evening of August 26, after a day of onshore winds (and some rain), I picked up 61 butts at the High Water Mark. They looked “fresh” and were probably from the Fishing Derby.
Beach goers don’t throw their butts in the water. Their butts (284 so far this summer) are usually at least 2m inland from the water (where they sit on their towels).
I have seen very few people paddling canoes and kayaks this summer. The paddlers I know don’t smoke.
63 butts at the high water mark today.
I was in the derby and would agree that to some degree many people are littering while fishing in the derby. We personally picked up several coffee cups and other debris floating in the water over the weekend. Hopefully someday people will start caring enough to stop trashing our beautiful world.
Happy to report “no butts on beach “ Friday August 28th.
Onshore wind Saturday August 29.
28 butts at the high water mark on Sandy Beach.