Apalachicola River Fish Passage to Help Shad and Bass

U.S. Army Corps uses multi-partner research to help restore fish populations and benefit ACF system.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL — April 11, 2008 — In the midst of the battle over allocation of the Apalachicola, Flint and Chattahoochee rivers emerges a great example of collaboration that will benefit the system and its species. After three years of study, fish passage operations are under way at Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam to restore dwindling populations of migratory fish in the critical river system known as the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF).

Two species of fish whose populations have severely declined — Alabama shad and the Gulf strain of striped bass — are being assisted upstream using the existing lock. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has participated in the interagency study by incorporating operations that use the navigation lock to give the fish access to nearly 200 miles of previously inaccessible spawning habitat in the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers. The Army Corps will continue to partner in the study efforts by providing passage through the lock during spawning in the spring. It is anticipated that the fish passage operation may become a permanent part of operations in water control manuals currently being updated, which could take a few years.

“Restoration of these and other migratory fish populations can improve the overall ecology of the ACF river system, Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico,” said Steven Herrington, Ph.D., senior aquatic ecologist for The Nature Conservancy. Herrington said the passage does not move federally threatened Gulf sturgeon and that The Nature Conservancy is currently requesting funds from Congress for a feasibility study on passage for all species, including sturgeon.

Three years of multi-partner research focused on the viability of using the lock to help migratory fishes repopulate from declines experienced after construction of the Jim Woodruff and other locks and dams throughout the ACF. Alabama shad is a federal “species of concern” and currently exists in only a fraction of its historical range, with the largest remaining population believed to be in the Apalachicola River. Scientists believe passage could allow shad populations to increase from an estimated 20,000 to 100,000 or more. The Gulf strain of striped bass has been managed since the 1980s, with the last natural population remaining there as well.

The research, funded by the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and led by the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Clemson University, involves sonar technology and radio tags to assess movement. Other partners besides the Conservancy and the Army Corps include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. With funding from the voter approved Florida Forever program and our generous donors the Conservancy has helped protect more than 1.2 million acres in Florida since 1961. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/florida.