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A Modern-Day Eel Weir

A 95-m barrier stands on a slightly elevated area of gravel and mud. Made of fishing nets held in a vertical position by wooden poles, it extends to a collecting box, also made of wood. The cloudy sky and the poles holding the nets are reflected in the still water in the foreground.

Location: Rivière-Ouelle (Québec)
Date: October 2008
Photo: Judith Douville

Every year, Georges-Henri Lizotte builds one of his eel weirs on the pointe de la Rivière Ouelle, at the mouth of the Ouelle River.

The presence of bulrushes and cordgrass caught in the nets, which measured over 3.5 m high in the weir shown here, provides a good indication of the height of the tides.