St. Lawrence River, USA

Great Lakes Forum (2016)

Joe used to live all along the St. Lawrence River – in Akwesasne (New York), in Quebec, and in Ontario. He grew up swimming and fishing in the river, and learned how to hunt and trap along the river. But he's seen the effects that industry has had on the river's health. Joe hopes that the pollution that is now found in the river will get cleaned up so the "No Fishing" signs will be removed and the water will be potable again.

"The biggest thing is the pollutants that the industry put into the river. My main concern is the clean up, to get it potable again, the water itself. To live again by the river like we used to and the fish and the wild game that belong to it. That's a very important aspect and I want it to be done, completed, cleaned up eventually. They told me it would never be %100 Like it was before.

Growing up by the river, like I said, swimming in it, drinking from it, fishing, hunting, trapping the whole nine yards. When I was a kid growing up it was all introduced to me and it was awesome to, I was fortunate enough to live by the river like that. But now they put out the fish advisory, you can't swim in it anymore, boil advisories not to drink it no more. All that stuff. My portfolio is environment back home and it's very big concern to me, the pollutants in that river."