Location

UMass Amherst

Event Website

http://fishpassage.ecs.umass.edu/Conference2012/

Start Date

7-6-2012 10:50 AM

End Date

7-6-2012 11:10 AM

Description

Despite radical perturbations, the Santee-Cooper, South Carolina American shad population persisted and expanded. In 1941, approximately 80% of Santee River flows were diverted to a dam and hydroelectric project on the adjacent Cooper River, historically a coastal plain tidal river. In 1985, a portion of the flow was restored to Santee River via a new canal and hydroelectric dam. A navigation lock on the Cooper River project provided upstream passage of anadromous fish since the initial diversion and since 1957 has been operated for fish passage. The Rediversion Project construction included a site-specifically designed fish lock that as of 2010 has passed more than 6 million American shad with annual average passage of nearly 400,000. Radio-telemetry study results indicated that the navigation lock had an attraction rate of 66% and passage effectiveness of 90% of attracted fish or 60% of available fish. Passage counts are unavailable for the navigation lock, but through recreational fishery surveys and hydroacoustic passage monitoring, it is reasonable to conclude that annual American shad passage into the Santee-Cooper system has approached and exceeded one million fish in some years. The unique characteristics of these inter-related fish passages will be discussed.

Comments

Steve Leach is a Senior Biologist with Normandeau Associates in Westmoreland, NH where he has worked since 2006, specializing in diadromous fish behavior and passage at hydroelectric dams. Steve grew up in Maryland, earned a B.S. in biology from Elon College, North Carolina in 1990, and an M.S. in oceanography and coastal science / coastal fisheries from Louisiana State University in 1993. Steve's work experiences range from academic to state resource agency to environmental consulting, including: investigations of estuarine-dependent larval fish transport on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, anadromous species larval production, trophic dynamics of the Chesapeake Bay; Diadromous fish passage and restoration, endangered shortnose sturgeon research, and FERC hydroelectric project relicensing and license compliance issues.

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Jun 7th, 10:50 AM Jun 7th, 11:10 AM

Session B7 - Santee-Cooper: A Lock on Fish Passage Success

UMass Amherst

Despite radical perturbations, the Santee-Cooper, South Carolina American shad population persisted and expanded. In 1941, approximately 80% of Santee River flows were diverted to a dam and hydroelectric project on the adjacent Cooper River, historically a coastal plain tidal river. In 1985, a portion of the flow was restored to Santee River via a new canal and hydroelectric dam. A navigation lock on the Cooper River project provided upstream passage of anadromous fish since the initial diversion and since 1957 has been operated for fish passage. The Rediversion Project construction included a site-specifically designed fish lock that as of 2010 has passed more than 6 million American shad with annual average passage of nearly 400,000. Radio-telemetry study results indicated that the navigation lock had an attraction rate of 66% and passage effectiveness of 90% of attracted fish or 60% of available fish. Passage counts are unavailable for the navigation lock, but through recreational fishery surveys and hydroacoustic passage monitoring, it is reasonable to conclude that annual American shad passage into the Santee-Cooper system has approached and exceeded one million fish in some years. The unique characteristics of these inter-related fish passages will be discussed.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2012/June7/5