Effects of Navigation Locks on Threatened and Endangered Species

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The goal of the project is to evaluate the impact of reduced lock operations on endangered, threatened, and game fish species in so called low-use waterways and effective mitigation methods to ensure the viability of impacted fishes while maintaining existing navigation operations on the Alabama River. In addition, information is needed on the feasibility of managing navigation infrastructure for fish passage and what contribution to long-term population recovery can be made. There are concerns that a reduction in or elimination of navigational lock operations is having a negative impact on the ability of a number of endangered, threatened and game fish species to migrate through waterways, particularly during critical spawning periods. Preliminary research indicates reduced lock operations on certain low-use waterways is directly impacting migration and that there are effective means to mitigate the impacts. Additional work is needed to determine how to increase the numbers of fish entering the locks and how to get them to stay in the lock longer, maximizing the ability of fish to use these locks to move past the dams, possibly restoring natural and historic long-distance river migrations. Central issues for this research include not only quantifying fish movement near and with navigation locks, but also the economic cost and benefits of modified lock operations. A mix of field studies, supporting laboratory studies and model studies are envisioned to help address the project goal.

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