The Eel Passage Research Center: Lessons Learned regarding Structure and Process for Effective Collaboration

EPRI formed the Eel Passage Research Center (EPRC) in 2013 to address the challenge of safe passage for outmigrating American eel (Anguilla rostrata) at hydropower projects on the St. Lawrence River.  This virtual center is a bi-national collaborative encompassing non-profit organizations; state, provincial, and federal (Canadian and U.S.) resource management agency representatives; and hydropower generating companies.  With a minimum 5-year commitment and multi-million dollar funding, the EPRC is investigating and developing technologies for guiding eels to collection points for transfer around hydropower projects. As physical screening has been deemed infeasible, the research focuses on behavioral stimuli (e.g., electricity, light, flow fields) to guide the fish. The EPRC employs a collaborative process that includes adaptive R&D planning; explicit specification of research goals and objectives, research questions, and decision path; and collaborative decision-making. The process and organizational structure employed by this collaborative enterprise, as well as results to date, provide lessons for other programs operating at the interface of research, resource management, and regulatory compliance.