On the afternoon of November 10th, 1975 heavy seas were breaking over the Thunder Bay Harbour breakwall. Some of the ships leaving Thunder Bay grain elevators decided to turn back, rather than continue to their destinations across Lake Superior and down the Great Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin a day earlier, making it to the eastern end of L. Superior on November 10th but sinking before it could reach the Sault locks. The entire crew of 29 persons went down with the ship. Read more in this excellent article and comments from Mlive.
According to Minnesota Sea Grant, Lake Superior supports fewer reproducing fish species (55) and produces fewer fish per surface area than the other Great Lakes, however L. Superior supports 34 species of native fish. Additionally, the L. Superior fishery has improved substantially over the last 40 years.
How many species of native L. Superior fish can you identify…..?
Members of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, including mayors from around the Great Lakes, held their annual meeting in Thunder Bay in June of this year. Their latest newsletter, “Making Waves” provides information about municipal climate adaptation, Asian Carp, improved rail safety and U.S. Environmental protection agency grants for sustainable communities. Read the entire newsletter by clicking here.
Two toxic hotspots on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes have been delisted, or removed from a long list of Great Lakes toxic sites, after completion of major projects to address contaminated sediment. The two “Areas of Concern” are Deer Lake, near Lake Superior and White Lake near Lake Michigan. The major contaminant in the case of Deer Lake on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was mercury from the mining industry. In the case of White Lake, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Muskegon County, Michigan, the tannery and chemical production industries left a legacy of contamination. Read more in the October 30th edition of Marine Link.com.