The US Army Corps of Engineers’ Cape Fear River Lock and Dam 1 is closed through mid-November for improvements to the fish passage.
The Cape Fear River Lock and Dam 1, located just above Riegelwood, includes a rock ramp fishway constructed between 2011 and 2012 to allow different fish populations to access historical upstream spawning areas. It was determined by various state and federal resource agencies and academic institutions that fish were not able to successfully migrate upstream over the rock arch fishway.
The Lock and Dam 1 Fish Passage Improvement Project, led by Cape Fear River Watch with funding made available by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, N.C. State Port Authority, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will modify the existing fish passageway to increase passage of striped bass and sturgeon to historical spawning area and help to create a self-sustaining striped bass population in the Cape Fear River.
This project began mid-July and is projected to be complete by mid-November. While heavy equipment is on-site at Lock and Dam 1, the US Army Corps of Engineers must close the facility to all public for safety precautions.
For more information about this project, visit Cape Fear River Watch’s website at: capefearriverwatch.org/fish-restoration.
