Fish Migration and The Mill Pond Fishway

Fishways are structures that let fish get around dams and the Falls River in Essex now has three fishways, which are part of an effort to reestablish a run of migratory alewives from Long Island Sound up to Mill Pond. This illustrated talk will introduce the three fishways and provide a virtual tour of the Mill Pond Fishway, built in 2019 at the dam behind the Centerbrook Architects building. Sally Harold and Steve Gephard will discuss fish migration, the life history of the alewife, why it is important to bring them back, explain how a fishway works, and tell the story of how this fishway was built. They will also talk about the unique ‘eel pass’ associated with the Mill Pond Fishway.

Sally Harold managed the project to build the fishway when she was with The Nature Conservancy as its Director of River Restoration and Fish Passage. She continues to restore streams as an independent consultant. Steve Gephard is a fisheries biologist who served as a technical advisor on the project. He recently retired from the State of Connecticut DEEP and is now also a consultant. He operates the Mill Pond Fishway as a volunteer steward for the Essex Land Trust. Sally and Steve write a column called "Below the Surface" for Estuary magazine.