4 centuries of damming and fishing: 4 studies of river herring & management
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4 centuries of damming and fishing: 4 studies of river herring & management
Carolyn J. HallHRF, 22 Oct 2012
Outline
• The historic influence of dams on diadromous fish habitat with a focus on river herring & hydrologic longitudinal connectivity. Landscape Ecology. Hall, Jordaan, & Frisk. 2011
• Centuries of anadromous forage fish loss: consequences for ecosystem connectivity and productivity. BioScience. Hall, Jordaan, & Frisk. 2012.
• TU: Status of diadromous fishes in coastal rivers, ME to VA. Part of final report to NFWF: Assessment of Atlantic Coast watersheds for river herring and diadromous fish conservation. Dauwalter et al. 2012.
• EDF: Northeast river herring organization survey. Part of larger RH study also looking at ocean fisheries
bycatch and stock assessments. Kritzer et al. In prep. Funded by NFWF
Landscape Ecology: Impact of dams on historical
river herring watersheds
of Maine
Hall et al. 2011. Landscape Ecology
“impassable dams … first principal cause of [river herring] decay” Charles Atkins, 1868
Dams in Maine over 300 years
• 1634: first dam in Maine• 1750: NE expansion• 1800s: logging industry• 1846: all RH rivers
dammed at head of tide
• 915 dams built by 1900• 20-fold increase in construction from 1750
Hall et al. 2011. Landscape Ecology
Spawning habitat: percent stream distance
Casco Bay Kennebec
1750: 90%1800: 50%1850: 25%
1750: 100%1800: 20%1850: 15%
Hall et al. 2011. Landscape Ecology
Spawning habitat: percent lake area
Casco Bay Kennebec
By 1800: < 5% virgin lake area remaining on all watersheds
1754, 1760, 17924.8%
1762 3%
Hall et al. 2011. Landscape Ecology
Habitat loss related to
harvest: 1800s watershed
percent contribution to
alewife fisheries
Damariscotta lake spawning area = 5.8% Penobscot (white) lake spawning area
Hall et al. 2012. BioScience
Lake Area in Maine Alewives Lost
BioScience: how to estimate loss of fish from lost spawning habitat?
Productivity: # fish per km2
Median value of adult alewives/area of lake:
20th century Damariscotta recruit data
(1949-1983) & harvest data (1949-2007)
State average of 5 watersheds: equal to
Damariscotta
Damariscotta Lake 18.9 km2
= 150,000 fish/km2
120,000 fish/km2
120,000 fish/km2
Hall et al. 2012. BioScience
Lost annual alewife production in Maine 1600 - 1900
Maine Estimates Total US Landings
Cumulative loss: 14 billion alewives (including recruits not harvested)
50 million/year
130 million/year
100 million/year
Total harvest loss:11.8 billion fish
Hall et al. 2012. BioScience
Lost juvenile forage base
The lost 14 billion was based on 4 yr old spawning recruits.What about lost 1-3 year olds?
Annual juvenile loss:
By 1750: 10 million
By 1800: 795 million
By 1850: 1.3 billion
Cumulative for 1750 - 1850
Hall et al. 2012. BioScience
Consequences for coastal ecosystems
Decline
Alewife
Blueback HerringPollution
Dams
Decline?
Atlantic Cod
principal coastal forage fishes
Striped bass
predators (and fisheries)
White hake
Alteration of Atlantic coast food-web
Extirpated cod & hake stocks
Diagram courtesy of Dr. Adrian JordaanCod & hake studies: Ted Ames 2004 & 2012
Trout Unlimited – collected dam information (partnered with TNC Aquatic Connectivity
study), historical & current migration data, & run counts for 9 diadromous fishes ME to VA
• Chance to collate/compare regional information• TU used these parameters along with habitat
conditions, weighting of diadromous fish species, future security of populations, etc. to calculate a conservation value and rank watersheds from ME to VA at the subwatershed scale. The conservation values were done twice: for river herring only and for 12 diadromous species (including hickory shad, striped bass, & brook trout).
Alewife historical and current migration per river
Blueback herring historical and current migration per river (no ME)
Recentrun
countsfor
diad. fishes
TU: River herring coastal distribution
EDF: River herring organization surveys – Government (state to municipal), Business, Non-profit,
Academic, Native American, Coalition/Association
Qs: What are organizations focused on? How are they similar? How are they connected?What new partnerships can/should be pursued?
2 SurveyMonkey surveys Maine: Sept 2010 to Jan 2011105 surveys sent, 60 responses = 57% response rate
NH, VT, MA, RI, CT: Feb 2011 to April 2011173 surveys sent, 87 responses = 50% response rate
Government, Non-profit, academic: most responsesBusiness: fewest responses
Maine
NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
• Education & outreach• Policy development
&/or advocacy• Field research &
monitoring• Environ protection,
restor, &/or mitigation• Litigation• Other
Organizations’ approaches to issues of concern:
Part 1: comparative org data analysis
Maine
NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
Primary interest served by org:
Ranked 1-3Ocean/coastal conserv, restor, &/or mngmntWtrshd/terristrial conserv, restor, &/or mngmntAquatic science/researchHist & cultural preservationCommercial fishingRecreational fishingOther active recreation (hunt, hike, boat)Natural history (e.g. birding)
Ocean conserv & mngmntWatershed conserv & mngmntHist & cultural preservationCommercial fishingRecreational fishingOther active recreation (hunt, hike, boat)Natural history (birding)Other
Maine
NH, VT, MA, RI, CT
• Green: unconcerned• Red: concerned but not planning
to become involved• Purple: Not active right now but
likely to become involved• Blue: Somewhat active• Orange: Very active
Org’s interest in & involvement with impacts on RH:
Fish passageWater qualityIn-stream & riparian habitatInvasive speciesDirected fishingBycatchOther (ME)Fish stocking/genetics (NH, etc.)
Part 2: organization network map - who works with or gets info from whom?
Maine organizations
only (draft)
Acknowledgements
• Adrian Jordaan & Michael G. Frisk, SoMAS, SBU• Dan Dauwalter & Jack Williams, Trout Unlimited• William Leavenworth & Karen Alexander, UNH• Edward P. Ames, Penobscot East Resource Center• Gail Wippelhauser & Tom Squiers, Maine DMR• Peter Steenstra, Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery• Maine State Archives• Maine Historical Society• Fogler Library, Special Collections, Univ. of Maine, Orono• Bangor Public Library, Local History/Special Collections• Funding:
– Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grant– NOAA research award– Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation, Trout Unlimited research… Thank you
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