EHS Support provided biological monitoring services including environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, habitat assessment, and juvenile fish sampling for a project focused on improving the understanding of the return of a migratory fish species (American Shad) following several dam removals on a large river system. Project objectives included sampling eDNA concentrations in surface water during adult spawning and juvenile rearing periods and conducting young-of-year (YOY) sampling during later stages of the juvenile rearing period to assess whether successful reproduction was occurring.
Our team provided a range of services that included:
- Project strategy and setup
- Health and Safety Plan development and scientific collection permit acquisition
- eDNA sampling and environmental parameter measurements
- Habitat assessment
- Fish sampling through beach seining and electrofishing techniques
- Technical reporting
- Project team coordination and project management
Adhering to state-specific requirements and established protocols, eDNA sampling incorporated field blanks, equipment decontamination procedures, chain-of-custody procedures, and clean-hands/dirty-hands techniques to minimize the potential for cross-contamination and ensure the collection of high-quality data. Habitat assessment results were used to inform the selection of YOY fish sampling locations, and beach seining and electrofishing were conducted to document the presence of YOY fish as an indicator of successful reproduction following the dam removals.
The project generated eDNA, habitat, and fisheries data to improve the understanding of the return of a migratory fish species following dam removals and to assess whether successful reproduction was occurring. The project successfully documented the presence of YOY American Shad, providing empirical evidence of successful reproduction upstream of the former dam locations. The project also documented many other freshwater and migratory fish species, such as American Eel, upstream of the former dam locations, providing further evidence of successful restoration.