dam/fish/talk

From Maine:

World Fish Migration Day is THIS Saturday, the 21st!  

Photo from Cape Cod Times/Merrily Cassidy

“The combined effects of drought, climate change and dam building are pushing the resources of the Mekong Basin to the brink of disaster,” said Maureen Harris, Southeast Asia program director of the river protection organisation, International Rivers. 

Photo:  LISA VANDERHOOP

Photo from: USGS

Most of us are aware that hydropower dams negatively affect fish migrations, but a new study out of Oregon State University has found that varying dam flows can devastate downstream insect populations.

“For the first time, this study determines the ecological impacts of hydropeaking separated from other dam-imposed stressors, and identifies the specific cause-and-effect relationships responsible for biodiversity loss below hydroelectric dams,” said Ted Kennedy, USGS scientist and lead author of the study.

River Herring are back in Weymouth, MA in impressive numbers, according to a Wicked Local article.  They are currently averaging around 9,000 alewife per day.  Wow!

In other news, Exelon and the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a landmark agreement to restore American shad and river herring to the East Coast's largest river (the Susquehanna) over the next 50 years.  To do this, Exelon will improve fish passage at Conowingo dam and transport up to 100,000 river herring and 100,000 American shad annually so they can reach their spawning grounds (which are located above four dams).  Article here. 

Photo from: www.sustainablenorthwest.org

Four large hydro dams that block salmon migration in the Klamath River are set to be removed!!

“This historic agreement will enable Oregon and California and the interested parties to get these four dams finally removed and the Klamath River restored to its pristine beauty," Gov. Jerry Brown said.

Image from: fishprint.net

Photo by Dave Harp

Photo from Portland Herald Press

Photo from Environmental Pollution

A paper recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution showcases plastics far reaching ‘life cycle’.  Typically we hear about plastics in the ocean, but what about our freshwater systems?  In the paper titled, ‘The Danube so colourful: A potpourri of plastic litter outnumbers fish larvae in Europe's second largest river’, authors outline the overwhelming plastic content of the Danube (which flows through 10 nations).  An alarming find?  Plastic content in the river is higher than that of larval fish and the input into the Black Sea via the Danube is estimated to be 4.2 tons/day.

Image: Tara Trinko Lake, NOAA. 

Photo: Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

“It is deeply unfair for Congress to put our fisheries at risk and then prevent experts from protecting them.”