Mar 26 2008
Rare fish impedes plan to dredge Merrimack River to Haverhill, MA
It’s called a shortnose sturgeon, it’s an endangered prehistoric looking fish, and it may stop the city of Haverhill’s plans to dredge the Merrimack River to bring more boaters and business to the city.
The Newburyport News reports that dredging the 16-mile channel from Newburyport to Haverhill to bring it to a depth of 8 feet will destroy much of the rocky river bottom, which is the ideal spawning ground for the sturgeon, which are on the federal endangered species list. The Merrimack River’s sturgeon population was estimated in 1993 to be between 20 and 100 fish.
Recent depth tests found that much of the river is 4 to 6 feet deep in many areas, with some shoals as shallow as 3 feet.
The decision not to dredge the river by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers was a tough call for Haverhill as it could mean the loss of potential business and boating traffic. However, any impact to the shortnose sturgeon population could be disastrous to the species in the Merrimack.
While this will probably hurt Haverhill’s plans for more riverside business and growth, I am somewhat pleased to see that steps are being taken to protect this fish. Too often these days, we hear how bits and pieces of animal habitats and nature preserves are slowly whittled away by business interests in the name of progress.
2 responses so far
The dredging planned for the Merrimack river is only to deepen the boating channel.This is a narrow portion of the river. The river is wide, the channel is a small portion of the river, as such I really doubt there would be a significant impact on sturgeon spawning. Even if an impact on these fish were to be proven the dredging could be scheduled as to not interfere with the spawn.
Interesting point, Doug. However, whether it’s dredging a small portion of habitat or dredging during non-spawning periods, it’s still damaging to the fish’s habitat in general. With such sparse information about where the sturgeon are, how they behave and what impact any dredging might have, it’s best not to disturb this area until more is known, IMHO.
Thanks for your comments.