Sawmill reservoir install#

But, due to very low numbers, there is currently a moratorium on the take of river herring from Massachusetts waters.Д«etween the 1940s and the 1970s, electrical parts manufacturers discharged wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and toxic metals into New Bedford Harbor, resulting in high levels of contamination. Herring are caught commercially and are also important prey fish for other commercial and recreational fish species, such as cod. This means more opportunities for herring to grow, thrive, and spawn. Migrating fish, including river herring and American eels, now have much better access to habitat all along the Acushnet River, which runs 8.5 miles from the spawning areas of the New Bedford Reservoir into New Bedford Harbor and empties into Buzzards Bay.

Since construction, there has been an astounding 1,140% increase in migrating herring able to pass over the dams and access prime spawning grounds, according to data collected by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. These fishways, designed to more closely resemble conditions found in nature, are located in the river channel and allow migrating fish to gradually gain enough elevation to successfully pass over the dams.

Sawmill reservoir install#

APIn 2007, as part of a habitat restoration project, NOAA helped to install stone 'fishways' at two dams on the Acushnet River in Massachusetts.

A version of this story first appeared on the NOAA Restoration Center website on April 8, 2013.