From the Feb 7, 2010 Star News:

More than a decade after it first promised to do it, the Army Corps of Engineers has announced plans to build a fish bypass at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear River.

The $12 million project, which was mandated by environmental regulators in the late 1990s as mitigation for the deepening of the Cape Fear River shipping channel, has languished because of budget constraints and a lack of priority for the corps.

But President Obama’s stimulus bill freed up money for the work, which will see a series of rock pools built to allow migratory fish such as striped bass and American shad to get upstream to spawn.

“We’ve always had this project on our radar, and now we’re excited to be able to start moving forward on this,” said Penny Schmitt, spokeswoman for the corps’ Wilmington district, adding that the bypass will have a natural look.

Money for the fish bypass wasn’t approved during the first round of stimulus funding allocations, although it had been recommended by the local corps district.

But Schmitt said that lower-than-expected bids for some work, coupled with problems in other corps districts getting projects approved, made the project possible.

Also pleased that the project will finally get built are environmentalists and fishermen, who hope commercial and recreational fishing industries along the Cape Fear will recover as they have in the Roanoke River watershed. . .

Full article here

Since the goal of the tournament, and of CFRW’s Cape Fear River Striper Foundation, is the preservation and restoration of the Cape Fear River fishery for generations to come, it is only fitting that the tournament reach out to and include the next generation of anglers.

Junior Anglers (who will be between the ages of 12 and 16 on January 16, the day of the tournament) wishing to fish in the tournament are asked to submit a 500-1,000 word essay on the topic “How a Strong and Healthy Cape Fear River Fishery Will Benefit The Entire Region.” The winning essay will convey the angler’s passion for conservation minded fishing as well as his or her understanding of the special characteristics of the Cape Fear River fishery. Proper spelling and grammar are also strongly encouraged.

Entries may be submitted online at http://www.cfrw.us/striperessay.html until December 17th.  The winner will be selected by the board of the Cape Fear River Striper Foundation, whose decision will be final.

The Cape Fear River Watch Invitational Striper Tournament is an annual tournament to celebrate the magnificent striped bass of the Cape Fear River and to raise awareness of the decline of the once bountiful fishery on the river. The fishermen and guides involved with the tournament hope to restore not only striped bass but the total fishery – including shad, river herring, and sturgeon populations as well. The Cape Fear Fishery Restoration Foundation has been established to receive funds and implement the goals of the tournament.

The tournament is held in partnership with NC Fish & Wildlife.  All fish caught in the tournament will be tagged, measured and released to be caught again while providing important census data to State fisheries scientists.

Click Here to Take Action Now

Bringing Back the Cape Fear River Fisheries

A Return of Abundance

Established in 1993, Cape Fear Riverwatch is a non-profit organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the health, beauty, cleanliness, and heritage of the Cape Fear River basin. Our mission is to protect and improve the water quality of the Lower Cape Fear River Basin through education, advocacy and action.

Background:

In 1910, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) authorized the construction of the first of three lock and dams on the Cape Fear River. Lock and Dam #1 was completed in 1915 and shortly afterward Lock and Dam #2 was constructed in 1917. And in 1935, William O. Huske Lock and Dam (Lock and Dam #3) was completed. The three lock and dams on the Cape Fear River are located at 39, 71, and 95 miles above Wilmington, North Carolina. These structures were initially authorized by the USACE to ensure a navigable channel for commercial barge traffic from Wilmington to Fayetteville, 111 miles upriver. For many years, river commerce thrived and industries flourished.
While the economies of Fayetteville, Wilmington and the surrounding counties prospered as a result of river commerce, anadromous fish populations such as American shad, Striped bass, Blue back herring, Atlantic and Shortnose sturgeon began to decline. These fish spend their entire lives in the ocean and return to the rivers where they were born in order to spawn. These fish must have access to their traditional spawning grounds located far above Fayetteville in order to support their populations. Now there was a concrete structure blocking the way. The year after Lock and Dam #1 was completed, the Wilmington Morning Star printed an article about the immediate collapse of the shad fishery above Lock and Dam #1. American shad, prior to the construction of the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River, was considered to be the most economically valuable fish species in North Carolina. Local communities that depended upon the return of American shad every year were now struggling without the extra incomes provided by this fish that once turned the river silver with their incredible numbers. For many decades the fading fisheries that supported so many families were ignored in exchange for commercial growth of the Cape Fear region. Presently, the American shad spawning runs up the Cape Fear River are but a shadow of their historical numbers. Shortnose sturgeon are listed as an “Endangered Species” in the Cape Fear River by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Blue back herring fishery, just as economically important to many eastern communities as the American shad fishery was in the early twentieth century, now has a total fishing ban in the Cape Fear River basin.
In 1997, a fish ladder was installed at Lock and Dam #1 to aid American shad and Blue back herring to pass over the dam and gain access to an additional 33 miles of river. However, the fish ladder failed to pass an adequate number of fish nor was it successful in passing other species of anadromous fish such as sturgeon or striped bass. A nature-like fish passage was then proposed by the USACE and would involve re-creating a stream through the adjacent floodplain at Lock and Dam #1 which would allow migrating fish to swim around the dam and re-enter the Cape Fear River approximately 2000 feet upstream of the Dam. Beginning in 2002, the USACE began studying the pre-construction conditions of the Cape Fear River from Lock and Dam #1 to Wilmington. This study would include a comprehensive tag and recapture program tracking the migratory patterns of anadromous fish species of the Cape Fear River. For three years American shad, Striped bass, and Atlantic sturgeon were captured, fitted with sonic tags, and tracked up and down the Cape Fear River in order to learn more about their current population and the extent to which these fish utilize the Cape Fear River in their life histories. This study documented the presence of a small population of American shad and Striped bass that still return to the river each year. It also documented the absence of sturgeon species as well, confirming the realities of a river system segmented by dams. Even though the USACE has been performing regular passage of fish through the lock chambers at all three dams for many years, the numbers of fish that actually pass to the upstream side of the dams are minimal. It is estimated that only 40% of the fish that reach Lock and Dam #1 pass through the regular lock passages. Repeat this scenario at the remaining two lock and dams and it is easy to see that only a very small number of the fish needed to sustain a healthy population are actually reaching their spawning grounds. In 2005, due to funding difficulties at the federal level, the nature-like fish passage construction was postponed indefinitely and a study was instigated to re-evaluate the lock and dam system as a whole.

In 2006, the USACE began a study, Section 216, to re-evaluate the status of the three Lock and Dams and and to recommend a plan for their future. These lock and dams were constructed to maintain a navigable channel for commercial traffic between Wilmington and Fayetteville. However, from 1965 to 1995, commercial traffic steadily declined and in 1995, only one barge was reported to have been passed through Lock and Dam #1 during the entire year. The bulk of the usage for three lock and dams has been locking recreational boats up and down river. The USACE still incurs an annual cost of $1 million dollars in order to operate and maintain these lock and dams even though they are not performing their intended purpose. Currently the USACE is studying the feasibility of either changing the purpose of the dams, altering the construction of the dams in order to provide fish passage, removing the dams, or de-authorizing the dams to allow a private entity to take over their control and maintenance. This study is still on-going and is near completion. Many factors have to be examined and considered before a final plan for the lock and dams can be approved. Most importantly, the City of Wilmington and Lower Brunswick Sewer Authority both have water supply intakes located just upstream of Lock and Dam #1. The City of Fayetteville depends upon Lock and Dam # 3 for creating a dependable water supply. These secondary uses of the lock and dams (providing consistent water supplies) poses a difficult problem because these facilities cannot be moved or altered without great expense.
Position: The Board of Directors of Cape Fear River Watch (CFRW), a community grassroots organization whose mission is conservation of the Cape Fear River, is concerned about the future of the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River. Anadromous fish populations such as the Striped bass, American Shad, Blueback herring and Shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons have suffered from human impacts throughout their range, from water quality degradation in the Cape Fear watershed, overfishing in the ocean and river, and perhaps most significantly, the lack of adequate passage through the lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River effectively eliminating access to historical spawning grounds far above Fayetteville. We encourage the USACE to continue its current “216 Study” of the changing role of the aging lock and dam system on the Cape Fear River and to consider all feasible alternatives to the locks that achieve the goals of all stakeholders with an interest in the Cape Fear River Basin. Cape Fear River Watch strongly supports the current alternative posed by the USACE to place rock arch rapids on the downstream side of each dam in order to provide sufficient passage of anadromous fish over the top of the dams versus through the lock chambers.
Action:In order to facilitate the transfer of information from the USACE to the general public, CFRW has initiated a public forum, inviting members of public to participate in an exchange of questions and ideas with representatives of the USACE, N. C. Wildlife Resource Commission, N. C. Department of Natural Resources, City of Wilmington, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cape Fear River Watch is dedicated to preserving and restoring fish populations to the Cape Fear River and promotes any initiatives aimed at improving fish passage around the three lock and dams. However, CFRW will not support any change which will jeopardize municipal water supply. CFRW will strongly encourage that there be thorough consideration given to the benefits that could be derived from the establishment of rock weirs at the locks and the ultimate acquisition of the surrounding land for the establishment of a Park. Cape Fear River Watch will continue to monitor the USACE Section 216 study and will attempt to keep the public informed as to the status of the Cape Fear River lock and dams. Cape Fear River Watch strongly supports any efforts to restore fish populations to the Cape Fear River system. Successful recovery of these once prolific fish populations will have tremendous impacts upon the Cape Fear region both ecologically and economically. Larger, predatory fish species, such as king mackerel would return in great numbers to feed on the bounty of shad and blue back herring thus attracting the lucrative recreational fishing industry to invest in our coastal communities. Striped bass would return to the Cape Fear River in numbers like those of Roanoke and Hudson Rivers. A return of shad and herring would also support greater populations of the wildlife which draws us to the water including bottlenose dolphin, wading birds, osprey, and otters.

Sincerely,

CFRW Board of Directors

Striped Bass Management the Topic at the next Fisheries and Wildlife Seminar

Below you will see what should be an interesting seminar. We need to learn all we can about managing Striped Bass in our effort to promote the restoration of our fishery in the Cape Fear River. This seminar does seem to be more about land locked stripers, but I am sure there will be lessons learned.

Doug Springer

On April 9, Dr. Jim Rice of N.C. State University will present “Paradigms, Perceptions and Progress in Understanding and Managing Striped Bass Fisheries in Southeastern Reservoirs” at the Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education in Raleigh.

This Fisheries and Wildlife Seminar is free and no registration is required. A networking session begins at 3:30 p.m. with the program starting at 4 p.m. The series is presented by N.C. State University’s Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The striped bass is considered an anadromous fish, living part of its life in the ocean, returning to freshwater to spawn. However, striped bass populations maintained by stocking have also been established in many reservoirs to enhance fishing opportunities. These landlocked populations pose some unique challenges for fisheries managers. Dr. Rice will discuss recent findings concerning the physical and biological processes affecting growth and survival of reservoir striped bass, and their implications for managing these populations.

The Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education is located on the first floor of the N.C Wildlife Resources Commission’s administrative headquarters, 1751 Varsity Drive. A free parking pass is available by e-mail request, with name and mailing address included, to centennialcenter@ncwildlife.org. For more information, call (919) 707-0203.