The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a long history of restoring damaged habitats and extirpated species to our lands and waterways.
Through progressive conservation efforts by countless environmental stewards, we now have bald eagles, river otters, Rocky Mountain elk, black bears, fishers, as well as freshwater mussels, and many fish species (e.g., shad, eel. bass, sturgeon, trout etc.) living within portions of our state.
One of our most valuable fish species are the hickory shad, Alosa mediocris, and American shad, Alosa sapidissima, which are both now restored in several waterways within our state.
This migratory fish was once a very economically valuable and sustainable commercial food source.
More details may be found here American Shad in the Susquehanna River Basin A Three-Hundred-Year History by Richard Gerstell and this Fish and Boat Commission report from Migratory Fish Restoration and Passage.
The primary reason shad are blocked from living within their historical range is the numerous dams which prevent them from moving upstream to spawn in the upper reaches of the rivers.
The full restoration of shad would be a tremendous success for the ecosystem of our waterways.
For example, from the Chesapeake Bay, dams upstream on the Lower Susquehanna and West Branch dams include: *Conowingo Dam (MD); *Holtwood Dam (PA); *Safe Harbor Dam; *York Haven Dam; Dock Street Dam; Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam (formerly Sunbury Fabr- idam); Williamsport/Hepburn Dam; Lock Haven Dam (low head); Shawville Dam (low head); Curwensville Dam.
[*The dams from York Haven down to the Chesapeake all have fish ladders and lifts, to try to mitigate this fish passage problem.]
It should be self-evident that there is no viable possibility that we can or should remove every dam, however, a group of commercial fisherman/engineers from the Netherlands established a design company that safely moves 100% of the fish upstream without high utility costs.
The staff at FishFlow Innovations have successfully installed over 70 projects in 5 countries including the Netherlands, Great Britain, New Zealand and Romania.
We truly need a commercial fish passage device which has been proven to work. This fish passage device is a fully functional 24/7 system that works efficiently and lasts a long time (>50 years).
Positive change is within our reach through facilitated planning.
Coordinated efforts with local nonprofits, such as watershed associations, sportsmen organizations, Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy; state agencies, such as the Fish and Boat Commission and the Game Commission; and federal agencies, including the US Army Corps, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would result in the restoration of shad to our river systems.
For shad to be fully restored in the Commonwealth, numerous, non-profits, local, state and federal agencies would need to support this deployment of a proven fish passage system such as would be provided by FishFlow Innovations.
The results would benefit generations of Pennsylvanians and our natural ecosystem too.
Stephen J. Wiedemer is a resident of Turtle Creek, Allegheny County
[Posted: August 31, 2023] PA Environment Digest
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