Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Becky Ewing #gogreen, introduced our speaker today. Mr. Andrew Muir, Ph.D. is the Science Director for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The role of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission is to create an innovative project that enhances fish passage and connectivity from the Boardman River to Lake Michigan while removing invasive species. This one-of-a-kind project has experts from around the world contributing and watching how this project progresses.

 

For the locals in the room, we know that the Boardman River project began with the first of three dams having been removed. The second dam is being worked on as we speak and the third dam at Union Street will be the third and final dam removed. This project aligns with the Boardman River restoration timeline with pressure from the community to remove the dams and the address the crumbling structures that exist. The dams serve as a barrier for sea lampreys. The sea lamprey is infiltrating Lake Michigan and act as predator fish and can consume up to 40 lbs of fish during its lifetime.  #sealampreysarenaughtyfish #wedontwanttheminourlakes

 

Currently, no solution exists for multi-species sorting.  Studying the behaviors of the fish will help design a system based on those behaviors.  These yet-to-be-developed solutions will require an integration of multiple techniques and technologies, an adaptive infrastructure that can be modified to achieve passage while allowing flexibility in the width and entry channels. #wecanfindasolution

 

The goal of having to sort fish will borrow concepts from the system used for recycling. Fish will be sorted based on physical properties.  The conceptual design is taking shape and will include a nature like channel, a fish sorting channel, dual gates that can act as a fish barrier when closed, a science facility and a boardwalk water trail access.

 

And that pretty much concludes our recap of today’s meeting. Join us next week for another episode of The Rotary Club of Traverse City at the Great Wolf Lodge.  #rotarydoesgood #proudtobearotarian  #welovechangingtheworld