Ecofish has completed a 5-year long term monitoring plan of six small run-of-river hydro projects developed and operated by Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. in southwestern BC. The studies found that trout densities in the diversion reaches of these streams increased following project operation. The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), as requested by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, recently reviewed the data collected and the monitoring methods to evaluate the accuracy of the results and identify any potential gaps in analysis in these studies. CSAS discovered a “well-structured sampling program that followed protocols approved for sampling small hydroelectric facilities [and]… it seems unlikely the basic findings will be affected by the use of alternative approaches.” To learn more about these interesting research outcomes, see the CSAS’s recent report, ‘Review of Long Term Monitoring Results From Small Hydro Projects to Verify Impacts of Instream Flow Diversion on Fish and Fish Habitat.’
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ScR-RS/2016/2016_048-eng.html
Fish community sampling
Looking downstream at depth-velocity transect