Smelt-run gatherings discouraged as COVID-19 pandemic surges

Many say the this has been a year like no other — and it will have to be one without the annual smelt run.

It's a time when friends and family enjoy the warmer weather and go out to snag the slippery little fish. But there are concerns about the spread of COVID-19 as people gather together.

Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha says it's not a safe thing to do this year.

"Concerns have been raised — by municipalities and community members on Manitoulin Island, the North Shore, and all the way up to Lake Superior — that this is just going to generate a gathering," he said.

"People would normally come in. It's an annual harvest ... and it means large gatherings of individuals around an open fire, where you share in beverages and also share in an activity that you know you've done since you were a young lad or a young girl. It's a family event."

Mantha said municipal services are already tapped out, and some hospital services are going to be at their maximum. He noted that, regardless of people getting the virus, they may break an arm or leg while fishing and need health care.

"The fact is that a lot of First Nations and municipalities are tapped to the end. Their services are going to be pushed to the brink. Our hospitals cannot, at this particular time, be dealing with a large of influx of individuals coming to the area," he said.

Annual smelt gatherings sometimes amass anywhere up to 400 people "in very small areas."

But there are those who rely on the smelt harvest as a part of their traditional food supply, Mantha noted, and he urged them to take precautions.

"This is once a year. The harvest will still be there next year. But think about the hazards that you're taking when you're leaving home because you're going to potentially be exposing others, at the heart of this," he said.

"Let's stay home and let's revisit this next year, when we'll ... be able to enjoy those traditional ways that we've always had throughout northern Ontario."