Money paves way for fish channel

Written by Susan Hunter
Thursday, 29 October 2009 09:27

SEYMOUR — Selectmen unanimously approved spending $40,000 on Oct. 20 to purchase land for a fish bypass channel that will be part of a dam system on the Naugatuck River.

The 47,000-square-foot $5-million structure will be built on one side of the Tingue Dam and run down the east side of the river abutting the municipal parking lot and New Haven Copper Company property, said First Selectman Robert Koskelowski.

The state will pay half the cost, the rest to come from federal stimulus funds, and the money to purchase the land will also be reimbursed.

The fish channel is a type of ladder that enables fish running up river to bypass the Seymour waterfalls and swim upriver to spawn.

The ladder will enable salmon and trout to ascend in stages and swim around the falls to go up the river or to smaller streams, said Selectman Frank Conroy.

The state of Connecticut encourages fish channels because fish can go upstream and propagate.

Too many congregating in one area causes them to die or to inbreed, leading to deformed or small fish.

“It’s an environmental issue,” Conroy said.

Up to this point, the waterfalls have prevented the fish from traveling upstream, and in cases like that, fish often die trying to continually vault over an obstacle.

The channel structure will also contain a viewing area for spectators, Conroy said.