9. Migratory Fish Passage
All-Day Session (Cumberland Room, 1st Floor)
* 4.5 credits are available for this session through APA AICP
Chair: Joe Zydlewski, Wildlife, Fisheries & Conservation Biology, UMaine; USGS Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
This session will explore the ecological conduit coastal rivers create for migratory fish moving between fresh and seawater ecosystems. Presentations on fish passage, habitat fragmentation, ecological service of migrations and life history dynamics are included.
Session Schedule
- 8:30AM – 8:55AM:
Dam Removal as a collaborative, multi-objective solution to fish passage and fire protection deficiencies at Coopers Mills, Sheepscot River, Michael Burke, Maranda Nemeth - 9:00AM – 9:25AM:
Exeter Dam Removal: A blueprint for successful fish passage restoration on the Exeter River, David Cloutier - 9:30AM – 10:00AM (Two 15-minute presentations):
A. Historical movement and survival of Atlantic salmon smolts in the Piscataquis River from 2009-2018, Alejandro Molina-Moctezuma (student)
B. American eels incur high mortality at dams during seaward migration in the Penobscot River, Matthew Mensinger (student) - 10:00AM – 10:30AM (Two 15-minute presentations):
A. Revisiting the Blackman Stream Fishway at Leonard’s Mills, Michael Chelminski
B. American Shad demography and motivation: a re-evaluation of Penobscot River American Shad post dam removal, Erin Peterson (student) - 1:30PM – 1:55PM:
Developing Cost Effective Monitoring for Rainbow Smelt Using eDNA, Jacob T. Aman - 2:00PM – 2:25PM:
River Restoration Project Mediates Secondary Contact between Anadromous and Landlocked Alewife, Katherine A. Littrell (student) - 3:00PM – 3:30PM (Two 15-minute presentations):
A. Energetic impacts of passage delays in migrating adult Atlantic salmon, Sarah Rubenstein (student)
B. A Year and a Day for Salmon: Local to global outreach events raising awareness for migratory fish, Molly Payne Wynne, Alicia Heyburn - 3:30PM – 4:00PM (Two 15-minute presentations):
A. River Herring population in the St. Croix River: Fish counts at Milltown Dam, Elizabeth Bishop-Hyslop
B. Where there’s a Will, but not a Way: Behavior of American Shad Approaching the Brunswick Dam Fishway on the Androscoggin River, Maine, Daniel Weaver
* Presenters are indicated in bold font
Morning Presentations
Dam Removal as a collaborative, multi-objective solution to fish passage and fire protection deficiencies at Coopers Mills, Sheepscot River
Michael Burke1, Andrew Goode2, Maranda Nemeth3, and Matt Bernier4
1 Inter-Fluve, Inc, Damariscotta, ME
2 Atlantic Salmon Federation, Brunswick, ME
3 Midcoast Conservancy, Edgecomb, ME
4 NOAA Restoration Center, Orono, ME
Initially developed to power local mills in the early 1800s, the primary function of the Coopers Mills dam for the last several decades was to provide a reliable pool for fire protection water supply. Fish passage facilities had been constructed at the site in the 1950s in the form of a standard 3-foot wide Denil fishway. Deferred maintenance of the dam structure led to extended periods where both the fire protection water supply and fish passage functions were adversely impacted. A collaborative project was developed by the Town of Whitefield, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and their partners to resolve these issues, and also enhance the site. Completed in Fall 2018, the Coopers Mills Dam Removal and Site Enhancement removed the dam to restore native fish passage potential, replaced the fire protection water supply system with an enhanced, redundant system, and created public use and educational features to broaden the acknowledgment of the historical role of the site in the village of Coopers Mills. The implemented project is the culmination of two decades of evaluation, discussion and planning by a variety of engaged groups. The presentation will provide an overview of the final project, and explore the relationship of this site to the broader multi-site restoration initiative within the Sheepscot watershed by ASF and their partners.
Exeter Dam Removal: A blueprint for successful fish passage restoration on the Exeter River
David Cloutier, P.E., Jake San Antonio, P.E.
VHB, South Portland, Maine
Located at the edge of the Squamscott River tidal estuary in historic downtown Exeter, New Hampshire, the Great Dam was a 136-feet-long by 16-feet-high reinforced concrete run-of-river dam. A fish ladder, installed in the 1960s to help restore passage for diadromous fish, proved inefficient at allowing upstream travel; the dam also represented a safety and flood hazard liability. Recognizing the ecological value of dam removal, the Town of Exeter enlisted VHB to develop channel fish passage design, secure grant funding and permits, and implement a comprehensive post-construction monitoring plan. The purpose of these actions was to create a framework to restore and maintain fish passage after dam removal. The monitoring plan incorporates quantifiable success criteria tracking; ongoing channel geomorphology and fish count surveys; and coordination with NOAA, NHFGD, and NHDES to ensure permit conditions are met. Permit conditions allow for post-construction channel modifications to further restore fish passage. Following the design and permitting phase, the Great Dam was removed from the Exeter River in Summer 2016. The removal process entailed reshaping the river channel at the dam site to optimize conditions for upstream passage of diadromous fish. Ultimately, the dam removal restored 21 miles of the Exeter River and its tributaries to a free-flowing condition, eliminated a barrier to migrating fish, and improved flood resiliency. Post-construction monitoring, now in its third year, indicates that the project is meeting or exceeding all measurable success standards and criteria for fish passage restoration.
9:30AM – 10:00AM (Two 15-minute presentations)
A. Historical movement and survival of Atlantic salmon smolts in the Piscataquis River from 2009-2018
Alejandro Molina-Moctezuma (student)1, Joseph Zydlewski1,2
1 Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, ME
During the last decade, the Piscataquis River (a tributary of the Penobscot River) has undergone important changes that have modified the experiences that Atlantic salmon smolts face during their downstream migration. Predominantly, changes to the Howland Dam, which started seasonal turbine shutdowns in 2010, and was later decommissioned. In 2016, a new nature-like fish bypass was built to increase. From 2009 to 2017 we used acoustic telemetry to understand the passage and survival of downstream migrants. We used detection data and a Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) approach to build a hierarchical multistate model to estimate survival through impounded and un-impounded reaches of the river over this period of time. The use of the CJS approach allowed detection of differences in survival between individual reaches, between years, and between release sites. Reaches that contain dams had lower apparent survival that reaches with no dams. There were differences in survival between years that were associated to environmental conditions (e.g., higher survival during high flows) and changes to the system (e.g., higher survival at Howland Dam after shutdowns and bypass installation). Release site also affected survival estimates, with fish released further upstream having lower survival at downstream sites. This may indicate a latent effect of previous dam passage.
B. American eels incur high mortality at dams during seaward migration in the Penobscot River
Matthew Mensinger (student)1, Joseph Zydlewski1,2, Erik Blomberg1
1 Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, ME
A Power Point presentation is not available for this talk. Please contact the speaker for additional information.
American eels, Anguilla rostrata, embark on one of the most expansive spawning migrations of any diadromous fish species in the fall. Following metamorphosis from a yellow eel into their final, silver-stage, migrants travel thousands of kilometers from freshwater systems across eastern North America, through estuarine habitat and into the Sargasso Sea. During the freshwater segment of this migration event, eels are often forced to navigate through hydroelectric dams, exposing individuals to turbine-related mortality risks during dam passage. To understand the effects of dam passage in the Penobscot River during this life-cycle stage, we captured and implanted acoustic telemetry tags into 100 silver-stage eels annually from 2016-2018 (n= 300). Tagged eels were immediately transported and released at two different locations upstream of Milford and West Enfield dams. These fish were tracked with an extensive acoustic receiver array as they migrated downstream towards the ocean. The sequence of detections was used to describe patterns of movement and to estimate patterns of survival through impounded and un-impounded reaches in the river. Movements of these fish were slowed by dams and higher mortality was observed in reaches with dams.
10:00AM – 10:30AM (Two 15-minute presentations)
A. Revisiting the Blackman Stream Fishway at Leonard’s Mills
Michael Chelminski, David Huntress
Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
The fishway on Blackman Stream at the Maine Forest and Logging Museum in Bradley, Maine was constructed in 2009 and commissioned in 2010. The target fish species is alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and the location of the confluence of Blackman Stream with the Penobscot River provided an opportunity to benefit from the (then) proposed removal of Veazie Dam as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. Removal of Veazie Dam restored volitional upstream passage for fish to the confluence of Blackman Stream, and numbers of alewife at Leonard’s Mills has gone from virtually no alewife prior to the removal of Veazie Dam to more than 500,000 in 2018.
This presentation revisits identified design opportunities and constraints that were considered in the development of the implemented design, including two previous designs that were developed but not constructed. Construction of this fishway represented the completion of long-term efforts by agency and non-governmental organizations to install upstream fish passage at this site at the downstream end of Chemo Pond, where a number of proposed designs were previously developed but not advanced for construction due to constraints including aesthetic concerns related to impacts to the historic context of the site and the relatively poor condition of the dam and potential effects of fish passage construction and operations on the dam.
A item of particular relevance is the identified need to increase the capacity of the fishway to accommodate returns that are approximately double the design capacity.
B. American Shad demography and motivation: a re-evaluation of Penobscot River American Shad post dam removal
Erin Peterson (student)1, Joseph D. Zydlewski1,2
1 Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, Maine 04469
A Power Point presentation is not available for this talk. Please contact the speaker for additional information.
The Veazie Dam (rkm 47) restricted anadromous American Shad Alosa sapidissima to spawning habitat in the tidal estuary of Penobscot River. Prior to the removal of Veazie Dam in 2013, these spawners had a relatively old age distribution (4-9 years, average 5.8 years) and exhibited high levels of iteroparity (up to 5 spawns). These results were attributed to the short migratory distance and the absence of mortality associated with post-spawn down-stream dam passage. It has been hypothesized that the removal of two dams and improved connectivity to the upper Penobscot River will increase population levels, but also eventually shift population demographics to younger fish with less repeat spawning because of dam passage. Additionally, those fish using newly accessible upstream habitat may tend to be naïve fish rather than previous spawners. We re-examined the age structure and iteroparity rates of spawners in 2018 and compared ages and iteroparity rates for shad sampled below Milford Dam (now the lowermost dam; rkm 61) and fish that successfully passed Milford Dam using scale analysis. The mean age of spawners sampled in 2018 is 4.2 years. Both age and number of spawns were higher for fish sampled below the dam than for fish that successfully passed the dam (4.4 versus 4.2 years, and 0.7 versus 0.4 spawns, respectively). These results suggest that younger fish are accessing the newly available habitat; motivation may be a factor of age and experience.
Afternoon Presentations
Developing Cost Effective Monitoring for Rainbow Smelt Using eDNA
Jacob T. Aman1, Michael T. Kinnison2, Vaughn Holmes2, Claire Gottsegen1
1 Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells, ME
2 University of Maine, Orono, ME
Environmental DNA (eDNA) tools developed at the University of Maine, Orono were successfully deployed in four streams in Casco Bay, ME in spring 2018 to detect the presence of anadromous rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), the first such application of this emerging technique. Field methods were refined and tested at sites with documented high (2) and low (2) spawning productivity. Samples were collected below known spawning areas near head-of-tide approximately 2-3 times each week during the spawning season. Samples were filtered and preserved for eDNA analysis. Initial efforts to extract DNA from samples were hampered by the presence of environmental inhibitors. Use of soil extraction kits appears to have overcome this problem and eDNA samples have been amplified successfully using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). In partnership with a qualified lab, these tools provide a low-cost and user-friendly method for monitoring the presence of rainbow smelt, a priority species for fisheries managers and conservation organizations.
River Restoration Project Mediates Secondary Contact between Anadromous and Landlocked Alewife
Katherine A. Littrell (student)1, David Ellis2, Stephen R. Gephard2, Andrew MacDonald1, Eric Palkovacs3, Kerry Reid3, Katherine Scranton4, David Post1
1 Yale University
2 Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
3 University of California – Santa Cruz
4 University of California – Los Angeles
Fish passage projects are altering habitat connectivity for many anadromous fish species, increasing the chance that previously isolated populations will come into contact. A recent fish passage project at Rogers Lake in Old Lyme, Connecticut has brought anadromous and landlocked alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) into secondary contact. The ecological and evolutionary outcomes of secondary contact between alewife life histories may be complex due to their divergent ecology, morphology, and migratory ability. Using a combination of field surveys and mesocosm experiments, we quantified two possible outcomes of secondary contact: the potential for hybridization and competition between alewife life histories for zooplankton. Hybridization potential was examined using otolith-derived spawning probabilities from five alewife populations (2013-2015). We detected low (less than 15%), but variable levels of overlap in spawning time between alewife life histories, with anadromous alewife spawning earlier and over a shorter duration than landlocked alewife. Following secondary contact, we genetically analyzed samples of juveniles each year and detected the production of anadromous alewives starting in 2016 and hybrids in 2017 and 2018. We also conducted two field mesocosm experiments to determine the outcome of competition for zooplankton between alewife life histories. The results indicated that anadromous alewife grew faster than landlocked alewife when zooplankton were abundant, but landlocked alewife may have had a competitive advantage when zooplankton were scarce. The interplay between hybridization and competition with landlocked alewife after secondary contact may have significant ecological and evolutionary implications for the successful management of anadromous alewife populations.
2:30PM – 3:00PM
Afternoon Break (Main Auditorium)
3:00PM – 3:30PM (Two 15-minute presentations)
A. Energetic impacts of passage delays in migrating adult Atlantic salmon
Sarah Rubenstein1(student), Joseph Zydlewski1,2, Nishad Jayasundara3, Paul Christman4
1 University of Maine, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, Orono, ME
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, ME
3 University of Maine, Department of Marine Sciences, Orono, ME
4 Maine Department of Marine Resources, Augusta, ME
A Power Point presentation is not available for this talk. Please contact the speaker for additional information.
New England Atlantic salmon runs in the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers of central Maine have been declining since the 1800s and now face critical endangerment. Despite extensive restoration efforts, inefficient fishways at dams continue to act as a barrier to fish movement during upstream spawning migrations. The current passage performance criteria at Milford Dam in Milford, Maine, on the Penobscot River is 95% passage within 48 hours of approach, but long delays of weeks at a time are common. Passage delays at dams expose fish to elevated water temperatures causing increased metabolic demand, but there currently exists no clear quantification of metabolic costs and fitness risks associated with these delays. Using a Distell Fish Fatmeter and radio telemetry techniques on the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers, we have seen patterns of delays at fish passage structures and correlations between fat loss and time spent delayed below the dam. We are characterizing these specific energetic costs of delays to upstream migrating adult salmon with bioenergetics modeling informed by our field work.
B. A Year and a Day for Salmon: Local to global outreach events raising awareness for migratory fish
Josh Royte1, Alicia Heyburn2, Molly Payne Wynne1
1 The Nature Conservancy and World Fish Migration Day Ambassador
2 World Fish Migration Day volunteer and citizen concerned for anadromous fish
Salmon is far more than a topping for a bagel. It is a species that links our forests, via our rivers to the sea, an indicator of healthy habitat and connectivity, and like most fish are victims of stream barriers. Unfortunately, salmon are more known for their flavor than their lifecycle. Two global events are working to change that; International Year of the Salmon (IYS) in 2019, and World Fish Migration Day (WFMD) May 16th, 2020. Both highlight research, environmental action and events that raise awareness, appreciation and advocacy for free-flowing rivers and migratory fish.Salmon are threatened by environmental change and human development across the Northern Hemisphere. The epic migrations of salmon through rivers and oceans take them across many borders and cultures. Saving these beautiful creatures requires a uniquely large-scale solution. IYS sets out to bring countries together to share knowledge, raise public awareness and take action.WFMD is a global celebration to create awareness and connect people to protect and restore free flowing rivers and migratory fish. In 2018 there were events in 64 countries reaching over 10 Million people through social media.Everyone can create and join a celebration. This presentation is for community advocates, fish friends, outreach coordinators, advocates and educators. Will share stories about how these events came to be, examples and ideas on how you and your community can participate and what this work looks like globally to realize the WFMD slogan; “connecting river, people and fish”.
3:30PM – 4:00PM (Two 15-minute presentations)
A. River Herring population in the St. Croix River: Fish counts at Milltown Dam
Elizabeth Bishop-Hyslop, Rebecca Goreham
St. Croix International Waterway Commission
Fish count data has been collected annually beginning in 1981. We have identified three historical events that have demonstratable effects on the migration of river herring, Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis), populations in the St. Croix River. We can demonstrate the improved population growth after measures were initiated to facilitate the successful passage of fish through various ladders.
The first event occurred in 1981. For decades prior to the 1980s, inadequate fish passage at dams on the St. Croix prevented access to spawning habitat and the herring population declined. In 1981 these issues were addressed, and the river herring population quickly increased from 200,000 to a peak of 2.6 million in 1987.
Next, in 1995, due to pressure from Maine fishing guides over a shrinking population of smallmouth bass, Maine Legislature blocked fish passage at the Woodland and Grand Falls dams. The river herring population could no longer reach their spawning grounds, and the herring population in the river crashed from 1.5 million fish in 1990 to 900 fish in 2002.
And the third event occurred in 2013. Due to a lack of evidence that river herring were responsible for a decline in game fish, herring passage was restored allowing the herring populations to steadily increasing in the St. Croix River.
The SCIWC continues to count river herring each season, monitoring the changes increased fish passage brings to river herring population in the St. Croix river.
B. Where there’s a Will, but not a Way: Behavior of American Shad Approaching the Brunswick Dam Fishway on the Androscoggin River, Maine.
Daniel Weaver1, Michael Brown2, Joseph Zydlewski1,3
1 Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, ME
2 Maine Department of Marine Resources, Augusta, ME
3 U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, ME
Brunswick Dam impedes fish passage in the Androscoggin River at the head of tide and blocks approximately 32 km of spawning habitat for American shad. A vertical slot fishway was constructed at the dam and is intended to facilitate passage for migrating American shad and other anadromous fish. However, numbers of American shad that pass through the dam annually have been relatively low (0 – 1,100 fish) relative to downstream abundance. We analyzed video and telemetry data collected by the Maine Department of Marine Resources from 2002-2005 to evaluate American shad behavior approaching and the fishway relative to hydropower turbine operations. Video analysis revealed relatively high numbers of observations in the river (averaging 50,000) compared to the entrance of the fishway or its pools (<8,000). Rates of observed shad on the side of the river containing the fishway were on average higher (6.5 – 8.6 fish/minute) when the turbine closest to the entrance of the fishway was not operating compared to when it was operating (4.1 fish/minute). Most of the radio tagged shad (75%) never approached the fishway and remained in the river below the dam (or went undetected). Individuals that were detected usually made multiple attempts at entering the fishway, but movements were restricted to the lower pools. Our results suggest that this fishway is not conducive to the passage of American shad. A better understanding of passage delays may contribute to improvement of this fish passage facility.