Assessment of a retrofitted downstream fish bypass system for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts and kelts at a hydroelectric facility on the Exploits River, Newfoundland, Canada

Scruton, D. A.; Pennell, C. J.; Bourgeois, C. E.; Goosney, R F; Porter, Theodore; Clarke, Keith D.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6237-7_16

Cited by 23 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Little is known about the behaviour, swimming strategy, and energetic demands on migrating fish in association with hydroelectric facilities and upstream fish passage systems and recent research has focused on addressing these issues (e.g. Hinch & Rand 1998;Hinch et al 2002;Scruton et al, 2004b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydroelectricity and fish: a synopsis of comprehensive studies of upstream and downstream passage of anadromous wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, on the Exploits River, Canada

et al. 2008

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Government (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and industry (Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada) have been working cooperatively to protect and enhance wild Atlantic salmon populations on the Exploits River, insular Newfoundland, Canada. Since the mid-1960s, enhancement programmes and construction of fish passage facilities at natural and man-made barriers in the watershed have expanded the range and increased the returning adult population from 1200 fish (circa 1960) to 22,000 fish, on average. Since 1997, attention has been paid to improving passage and survival of downstream migrating smolts and kelts at two hydroelectric facilities at Grand FallsWindsor and Bishops Falls. At Grand Falls-Windsor a floating louver and bypass system was installed in a power canal and extensive biological, hydraulic, and modelling studies have been conducted to assess, modify, and optimize fish passage. At Bishops Falls, a retrofitted surface spill bypass system was installed in an existing spill gate and similar studies have been conducted to improve passage success. Studies have also been conducted on the upstream migrating adults at these facilities and associated fishways, using conventional and physiological telemetry, to assess tailrace attraction and residency, and the relative energy cost of upstream migration to bypass the hydro plants and fishways. This article reviews the results of these various studies to demonstrate how cooperative work has improved passage of anadromous salmon in coexistence with hydroelectric development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydroelectricity and fish: a synopsis of comprehensive studies of upstream and downstream passage of anadromous wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, on the Exploits River, Canada

et al. 2008

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“…The installation of downstream fishways and bypass structures offers some hope for ameliorating the potential negative effects of increased hydropower generation (Simmons 2000;Johnson et al 2005;Scruton et al 2007). However, existing downstream bypass structures at Penobscot River dams perform poorly, and efforts to improve bypass efficiency have had little success.…”

Section: Locations Of Mortality and Potential Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of Migrating Atlantic Salmon Smolts through the Penobscot River, Maine: a Prerestoration Assessment

2011

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Survival, distribution, and behavior of hatchery (n = 493) and naturally reared (n = 133) smolts of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar migrating through the Penobscot River and estuary in Maine were evaluated with acoustic telemetry in 2005 and 2006. Survival and use of a secondary migration path (the Stillwater Branch) were estimated with a multistate mark–recapture model. Higher rates of mortality per kilometer (range = 0.01–0.22) were observed near release sites and within reaches that contained three particular dams: Howland, West Enfield, and Milford dams. Estimated total survival of tagged hatchery smolts through entire individual reaches containing those dams ranged from 0.52 ( 0.18) to 0.94 ( 0.09), whereas survival through most of the reaches without dams exceeded 0.95. Of those smolts that survived to the Penobscot River–Stillwater Branch split at Marsh Island, most (≥74%) remained in the main stem around Marsh Island, where they experienced lower survival than fish that used the Stillwater Branch. Movement rates of hatchery‐reared smolts were significantly lower through reaches containing dams than through reaches that lacked dams. Smolts arriving at dams during the day experienced longer delays than smolts arriving at night. Planned removal of two dams in this system is expected to enhance the passage of smolts through the main‐stem corridor. However, the dams currently scheduled for removal (Great Works and Veazie dams) had less influence on smolt survival than some of the dams that will remain. This case study shows that by examining prerestoration migration dynamics throughout entire river systems rather than just in the vicinity of particular dams, tracking studies can help prioritize restoration efforts or predict the costs and benefits of future hydrosystem changes.

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“…Bypass efficiency was assessed by releasing experimental groups of smolt in the forebay between June 8 and July 2, 2003 (Scruton et al, 2004a). All smolt entering the by-pass were enumerated daily and test smolt were taken from the plunge pool (08:00 h to 10:00 h) and moved to a 1,000-l insulated container.…”

Section: Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of a retrofitted downstream fish bypass system for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts and kelts at a hydroelectric facility on the Exploits River, Newfoundland, Canada

et al. 2007

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In 2002 and 2003, the Bishops Falls hydroelectric generating facility on the Exploits River, insular Newfoundland, Canada, underwent extensive refurbishing including replacement of turbines and installation of a 'retrofitted' bypass and fish handling system. The effectiveness of this new bypass system has been assessed during the annual downstream run of wild Atlantic salmon smolt and kelt in smolt were radio tagged and released between June 9 and July 2, in the forebay of the hydro plant (19 releases) and one upstream (in-river) release. Fish guidance efficiency (FGE) of the system overall was 63% (123 of 195 fish) with 36 fish passing through the turbines, and six known mortalities. In 2004, between June 9 and July 2, a total of 358 smolt and 103 kelt were released in the forebay in 45 and 13 releases (n = 8 per release), respectively. The FGE of the system for smolt was 71.7% (257 of 358 fish) and for kelt was 92.3% (95 of 103 fish). In 2004, 96 tagged smolt passed through the turbines and 43 (44.8%) were detected at a downstream station confirming they had survived turbine passage, suggesting an overall survival of smolt passage of the Bishops Falls hydro facility in the order of 85%. A total of seven kelts (6.8%) passed through the turbines and were not detected 1.5 km downstream suggesting they did not survive turbine passage. Smolt spent on average 39.8 h in the forebay before exiting in 2003 and forebay residency averaged 26 h in 2004. In both years, most smolt selected their passage route, actively or passively, within the first 10 h with secondary peaks at 25-30 and 50-55 h, corresponding to evening passage in the second and third night, after release. Few smolt were bypassed or entrained into turbines during daylight hours. In both years turbine passed smolt spent more time in the forebay suggesting the longer fish reside in the forebay the greater the likelihood of turbine entrainment. Kelt were either bypassed or turbine entrained relatively quickly, within 2 h of release, and virtually all kelts were bypassed/turbine entrained during the hours of 18:00 and 01:00. These data on fish behavior and residency in the forebay will assist further refinement of operations of the bypass facility to optimize survival.

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Assessment of a retrofitted downstream fish bypass system for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts and kelts at a hydroelectric facility on the Exploits River, Newfoundland, Canada

Cited by 23 publications

References 8 publications

Hydroelectricity and fish: a synopsis of comprehensive studies of upstream and downstream passage of anadromous wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, on the Exploits River, Canada

Hydroelectricity and fish: a synopsis of comprehensive studies of upstream and downstream passage of anadromous wild Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, on the Exploits River, Canada

Survival of Migrating Atlantic Salmon Smolts through the Penobscot River, Maine: a Prerestoration Assessment

Assessment of a retrofitted downstream fish bypass system for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts and kelts at a hydroelectric facility on the Exploits River, Newfoundland, Canada

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