It appears the St. Lawrence River, near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is getting warmer.

A recent Canadian government study says not only is the average water temperature at a record high, but it’s also eliminating oxygen at the same time. It’s information that is very worrisome for those who depend on it.

“The St. Lawrence River is an awesome part of this world,” Save the River Assistant Director Bridget Wright said.

From the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Lawrence River is a critical watershed for recreation and business/cargo transportation, both for the U.S. and Canada.

“It’s a generational place for many of us to come back to every year,” Wright added.

Wright loves the river so much, she's made it her life. In 2010, she joined Save the River, an environmental advocacy agency designed at protecting the St. Lawrence. She's now its assistant director.

“It’s where our loved ones and our families have grown up,” she added. “We keep coming back because of its beauty and its magic.”

However, Wright is now concerned that magic could be fading.

Recently, the Canadian government, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec, released a report on average water temperatures in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, farther north near the Atlantic Ocean. That water is getting warmer. In fact, it's breaking records.

At measurements of 300 meters deep, in 2022, the temperatures exceeded 7 degrees Celsius, or 44.6 degrees Fahrenheit, for the first time ever.

“A couple of degrees makes a huge difference,” Wright said.

One degree of difference, she continued, is massive because of the sensitivity of aquatic life.

“Cold water spawning fish cannot survive and thrive in warmer waters, and in some cases, they will not be able to spawn,” she said.

That, Wright says, is just one aspect. When temperatures increase, oxygen decreases. Levels that were near 40% 50 years ago are now down below 12%.

“Fish have less oxygen to to survive and breathe and they will move to colder waters. If they don't adapt, then they don't survive. It's the same with aquatic plants as well,” she said.

Wright believes it is only a matter of time before that current brings those warmer temperatures into other, closer regions.

“Will it make its way down to us or is it already here? My guess is yes,” she said.

It is also her opinion that all of this is due to global warming, but she also believes there's a solution.

“The foods you buy, the materials you buy. Are you recycling?” she asked.