The Acushnet River experience: Restoring migratory fish passage at three dams using nature-like and technical fishways

Construction of the Acushnet River Fish Passage Restoration Project in Acushnet, Massachusetts, was completed in October 2007.  This project restored access to migratory fish of 3.8 stream miles and 200 acres of prime river herring spawning habitat by a) partially breaching the lowermost dam and building a stone flow-constrictor/step pool fishway over the remaining portions of the dam, b) installing a stone step-weir fishway at the second dam and c) installing a technical fishway at the uppermost dam on the river. This presentation will describe the history of the project, review why these fish passage alternatives were chosen over others, including dam removal; discuss the pros and cons of each approach used; lessons learned; and review and discuss pre- and post-construction fish passage monitoring techniques, results, and project success.