Students at Englewood Elementary School in Crapaud are helping spawning smelts to reach inaccessible parts of the Westmoreland River.
Thursday morning staff from the Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division will be at the school to explain the life cycle of smelts and the many important roles they play in our Island’s ecosystem. Students will learn how to identify male and female smelts and how to handle them properly before they transport them upstream over an old dam structure that obstructs their migration.
At this time of year, smelts return from the sea to spawn, but many Island streams and rivers have blockages that prevent them from reaching their goal. Years ago, most Island waterways were dammed to provide power for grain mills and sawmills. While these mills are no longer there, many of the dams or parts of the old dams are still in place, preventing spawning fish from reaching the upper part of the waterway.
The old mill on the Westmoreland River was torn down decades ago, but a stone ledge from the original dam still presents a formidable challenge to these small fish. Smelts are not good jumpers, so students will scoop them up and lift them over the ledge to enable them to continue on their journey.
The event will take place rain or shine on the Westmoreland River, behind the pharmacy in Crapaud on April 25, 2013 from 9 to 11 a.m.