Evaluation of species specific success for fish passing through fishways

Irving Oil Ltd. (IOL) manages impounded wetlands on company owned properties including a wetland located on the Little River at the site of the Saint John Oil Refinery. IOL in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) manages this wetland and other impoundments to provide proper habitat for wildlife including fishes and ducks. To do this this IOL must know the most cost effective way to manage physical factors (i.e., water flow and temperature, fishway structure) that affect the viability of wildlife in its wetlands. Adjusting physical variables is costly, both in capital costs (i.e. materials for new fishways) and operations and maintenance (i.e. adjusting water flow). Determining the most biologically effective and cost efficient way to manage these fishways is of great value to IOL and DUC. IOL and partner DUC have approached Acadia University to begin a pilot project in summer 2013 to assess the efficiency of a small subset of fish passage systems. Whether these fishways are effective at facilitating the movement of fish from one wetland to another, or between portions of the same wetland has never been tested. This project will lead to more effective and less expensive fishway design and operation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Michael Stokesbury

Student:

Samuel Andrews & Mathieu Gregoire

Partner:

Irving Oil Ltd.

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Acadia University