Broken Brooks: Increasing Access to Salmon Habitat through Diverse Partnerships

In 2019 – 2020, the PWA will remediate fish passage through at least three barrier culverts by installing two outflow chutes and five rock weirs. On culverts assessed to have an outflow drop less than or equal to 25 cm, an outflow chute installment is recommended to aid fish passage. On culverts assessed to have an outflow drop less than 15 cm, a rock weir can be installed to increase the height of the existing plunge pool. By installing this type of structure water levels are raised in the plunge pool and the barrier outflow drop is effectively reduced or eliminated. These two structures can be combined to facilitate fish passage through culverts with outflow drops up to 40 cm in height. Furthermore, seine fishing surveys at barrier culverts are now incorporated in PWA’s culvert remediation work to ensure that no invasive species will benefit from improved fish passage at culverts. In addition, PWA will survey remediated culverts and the results will be used to improve future remediation projects.

A workshop hosted by the PWA will be scheduled for the beginning of the 2019 field season. The PWA has formed a partnership with the welding program at NBCC Moncton; students will provide in-kind support by fabricating the outflow chutes over the winter to be installed at the beginning of the summer. Working together, PWA and NBCC will aim to restore access to at least 20 km of aquatic habitat in the Petitcodiac watershed.  The PWA will continue to collect aquatic connectivity data by assessing approximately 50 sites per year in the watershed and promoting citizen science culvert assessment protocol to expand Atlantic salmon recovery efforts in the Bay of Fundy.

Contact: Lindsay Gauvin, 506-384-3369, executivedirector@petitcodiacwatershed.org