The lower Susquehanna teems with fish. Striped bass forage over oyster beds outside Port Deposit, while smallmouth bass do the same over shoals of mussels in Harrisburg. Clear water flows free and the annual runs of shads can be seen from high above the cliffs lining the river. Eagles fly low over the water picking up hickories, gizzard shad, and the occasional American shad, a welcome site to the river’s numerous birdwatchers who can also be found gliding through the four wetland sanctuaries in their canoes. The shad runs are a time of celebration in the surrounding towns, with numerous festivals, each with their own spin on traditional shad based cuisine. Anglers have the opportunity to catch huge catfish and record breaking muskie, scores of smallmouth bass in eddies softened by the exposed bedrock, chase stripers fresh out of the Chesapeake, and hundreds of hickory and American shad in their yearly migration up the swift waters on their way to spawn. Oysters and mussels, aided by the return of the eel which the mussels share a symbiotic relationship with, have cleared the water allowing for you to harvest dinner along the bank and out in the bay. The more adventurous can even don a wetsuit and snorkel with Atlantic sturgeon, the river’s true gentle giants, or kayak down the whitewater at the old dams. For decades, the river has thrived as a result of effective fishery management with limited seasons and catch and release regulation, allowing the fishery to continually grow and mature.
Or, rather, it could be.
We used this self-replenishing resource to death. We sacrificed healthy rivers for over-harvest, irrigation ditches, and eventually hydroelectric power. Not only have we destroyed this fish resource, but we’ve also destroyed the rivers in which they teemed. Our rivers have been subjected to nutrient laden runoff, oxygen deprived water, and the monolithic concrete roadblocks we call dams.
The Susquehanna River Basin is currently in a state of disconnect. Nine miles from the Chesapeake the Susquehanna you hit the wall, the first barrier hindering this rivers connectivity. The Conowingo Dam is the first of four main stem dams that block passage of major migratory fish species that historically boasted major fish runs large enough to support major fisheries. This loss of connectivity has been a detriment to not only the fish, but everything living in or around in as well as the river itself.
The dams were never designed as permanent infrastructure and some may be nearly compromised. After filling in with sediment, these dams no longer offer the once promised hydroelectric storage or flood mitigation. Fish passage has not been enough. Historical numbers show that when not faced with moving through a dam facility, shad numbers were higher than in previous years or since. Over 40 years ago, Hurricane Agnes deluged the Susquehanna basin and Chesapeake Bay. The resulting flood shifted a mile long, hundred foot high concrete structure - the Conowingo Dam. If we see that type of power again, and it's becoming ever more likely, the dam could give way, destroying the homes of downstream residents and spelling disaster for the Chesapeake.
What we in the East have forgotten, is that we used to have our own immense wild fish migration on the same magnitude as what is celebrated in the Pacific Northwest. For millennia, our rivers teemed with our own special blend of fish. Shad, herring, eels, sturgeon, striped bass and Atlantic salmon ran rivers and scaled rapids, migrating hundreds of miles inland to their birthplace to complete the cycle of their life. In the process, we harvested fish by the millions every year providing a clean and healthy source of food.
"The lowest estimate that was made of the number of shad that were taken in that great haul has placed it at 15,000,000." - Maine Mining and Industrial Journal of May 17, 1889
"The annual commercial value of the North Branch shad fisheries in 1881 was estimated at $12,000 with an estimated catch of 150,000 fish" - Stevenson, C.H. 1897. The restricted inland range of shad to artificial obstructions and its effect on natural reproduction. Bulletin U.S. Fish Commission, XVIII:265-271.
An old photo, showing a large haul of American shad in the Susquehanna River. Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, reprinted by The Bay Journal.
American shad as well as other shads experienced a great collapse. The collapse spurred some restoration efforts including stocking and trucking; however, today both of those have ended. Even with runs approaching what historically just the North Branch would have experienced, the four dam complex on the Lower Susquehanna passes an average of 2% of these fish. 2001 recorded over 190,000 fish passing Conowingo Dam, a likely fraction of what could have without the structure in place. In 2001 at the peak of the recovery, only 16,200 fish of the 193,000 fish were able to make it from Conowingo to York Haven.
These aging and largely obsolete dams on the lower Susquehanna River are the last substantial obstacles to reviving these fish runs and creating a massive food, recreation, and economic resource to the whole Susquehanna watershed. The river is ready.
These aging and largely obsolete dams on the lower Susquehanna River are the last substantial obstacles to reviving these fish runs and creating a massive food, recreation, and economic resource to the whole Susquehanna watershed. The river is ready.