Annual Fish Lift Program

JJ McDonnell is looking forward to kicking off another year of partnering with Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Conowingo Dam on their annual Fish Lift program.

The construction of the Conowingo Dam was in the early to mid-1900s, located just north of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay intersection. The river was particularly important for anadromous species, meaning they live most of their lives in saltwater, yet return to freshwater areas to spawn. The construction of the dam blocked traditional spawning migrations for species such as the American Shad. The current Conowingo Dam owner, Constellation Power, works closely with State and Federal agencies to help assist fish like the American shad to access traditional spawning areas above the dams. Current efforts include a fish lift on the west side of the dam which is operated by an environmental consulting company contracted by Constellation power.

The lift consists of a series of gates and channels of water, designed specifically to attract migrating fish. The fish are then trapped in a tank-like 'hopper" that is lifted into the air and over a sorting tank. The water and fish are then released into the tank and manually sorted separating migrating and native species from the invasive species such as Northern Snakehead, Flathead Catfish and Blue Catfish. The migrating and native species are trucked in portable tanks to upstream areas while the invasive species are removed and picked up by JJ McDonnell.

The fish lift typically is in operation from April to June, based on the American Shad migration. JJ McDonnell’s role is transporting the invasive species from the dam back to Elkridge to be further processed and packed for donation to local food banks, last year we supported Cecil County. We also have the opportunity to sell a portion of the fish collected to our customers, helping us to better connect our customers to this great program. To learn more, check out our video HERE!

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