Something fishy is going on in Jewetts Creek, NB

Abstract

Presently there is a hanging culvert at the mouth of Jewetts Creek, a tributary of the St. John River. Hanging culverts occur when the culvert entrance is located too high above the water surface to permit fish entrance. This particular culvert has created a fish migration barrier and the exact effect of the hanging culvert on the fish population in the tributary is unclear. Important fish species in Jewetts Creek include blacknose dace, creek chub, white sucker, Atlantic salmon, and brook trout. The New Brunswick Department of Transportation has proposed a fish passage design that will allow for upstream fish migration in Jewetts Creek. The proposed design is a vertical slot fishway. A model fishway, based on the proposed design, was built in the hydraulics laboratory at the University of New Brunswick. In addition to the proposed fishway design, an alternate design was also tested. Velocity measurements were recorded for different flow rates within the two fishway designs. As well, the water flow path in each setup was recorded using a high speed camera. The velocity distributions and video indicate that the two different designs will satisfy the swimming capabilities of the fish believed to inhabit Jewetts Creek. It has been recommended that further testing be done that would include different fishway designs. If possible, testing of the fishway designs with fish would give the best indication of which fishway setups are the most effective.