What species of fish live in the Don?
The most common native fish in the Don are minnow-sized species, including creek chub, blacknose dace and long nose dace, and white suckers. These fish are pollution-tolerant and also tolerant of the unnaturally high water temperatures in the Don. Large fish that are noted in the Don are usually suckers or carp, although northern pike have been observed in Toronto Bay near the Mouth of the Don. In the fall since the mid-1990s, salmon have been observed migrating up the river, looking for a place to spawn. These fish are native to the Pacific Ocean, but they have been stocked in Lake Ontario for sport fishing. In recent years the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority has constructed fish passages at several small weirs (dams) in the Don to help salmon and other migratory species find their way upstream. However, a great deal of restoration work remains to be done before these fish will have much chance of spawning successfully.
