STUDY UPDATE - JANUARY 2004

Field Activities

• The fish monitoring program was completed in November 2003. This activity included drift netting in the Petitcodiac River Estuary and monitoring of the Petitcodiac River Causeway fishway.
• Water temperature data has been downloaded from all of the temperature sensors which were installed in the upper drainage of the Petitcodiac River, the headpond and Petitcodiac River Estuary.
• The field sampling program was concluded in November 2003 with the collection of water and sediment samples as well as the sampling of benthic macro-invertebrates and aquatic flora. Most of the spring and some of the summer results of sample analysis have been received. The analysis of the fall sampling program are expected by the middle of February 2004. At that time, the evaluation of the results relating to the bio-physical components will begin.
• The two new water level recorders installed by Water Survey Canada located at Beaumont and Dover will continue to operate and record tidal water levels in the estuary.

Component Studies

• Comments from the public, stakeholders, aboriginal community and the Technical Review Committee (TRC) on the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Bio-physical Component Study have been incorporated in the document. The revised version of the TOR is now being reviewed by the TRC.
• Public, stakeholders, aboriginal community and TRC comments on the draft TOR for the Socio-economic Component Study are being incorporated into the document. The revised version of the TOR will be sent to the TRC for review.
• Comments from the TRC on the draft TOR for the Modelling Component Study are being addressed at this time.

Fishway Evaluation

In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of a fishway to accommodate the various species of fish in the Petitcodiac River System, a member of the AMEC Team visited a fishway in Wales. The fishway is constructed in association with a Barrage on the Cardiff Bay with tidal characteristics similar to the Bay of Fundy. The Cardiff Bay fishway only passes salmon, sea trout and elvers (juvenile eels).

Members of the AMEC Team also visited the Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center at Turners Falls in Western Massachusetts. The Center contains fish holding facilities and micro- and mega-scale flumes in which fish passage problems (fish passage, fish behaviour, fish physiology and aquatic ecology) can be modelled. Experimental fish passages and hydraulic structures are also designed and tested at the center. The AMEC Team has also visited the Florida Light & Power Cataract Dam and Fish Lift. The Cataract Dam is the lower-most dam on the Saco River in Saco, Maine. The fish lift is operated mainly for salmon, shad and gaspereau.

Consultation Activities

Public and stakeholder consultation has been an ongoing activity as an integral part of the Petitcodiac River Causeway Environmental Impact Assessment. Consultation activities during the month of January include a meeting with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick, a presentation to the Université de Moncton, a meeting with the City of Dieppe and one-on-one consultation with individual members of the public. A meeting with members of the Fort Folly First Nation will also take place in January to discuss the various aspects of the project and to draw on their knowledge and experience.

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