Little Goose lock closure could impact fish barging

The current extended lock closure at Little Goose Lock & Dam may have some impact on the corps’ annual practice of barging young salmon downstrean. The barging operations generally start no earlier than April 21 and no later than early May, according to Bruce Henrickson, corps information specialist.

At present the corps has eight of its 10 fish barges at Lower Granite and two downstream in Portland for maintenance.

One option, in the event river shipping remains blocked at Little Goose, would be to bring the two barges upstream from Portland as far as the fish loading facility below Little Goose at Riparia.

“We also have the option of trucking fish below Bonneville using our fleet of tractor-trailers and mid-size trucks,” Henrickson said.

Bonneville is the last dam on the Columbia River before the fish can then swim to the ocean.

“Generally fish that are transported downstream are juvenile salmon or steelhead, though some other species or a few adults may also be loaded on to the barge,” he said.

The fish transportation program is aimed at safely transporting downstream-migrating juvenile salmon and steelhead.

The corps operates the juvenile fish transportation program in cooperation with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration fisheries service and in accordance with NOAA’s hydropower Biological Opinion for salmon.

Barges are used when the numbers of outmigrating salmonids are highest. Trucks are used early and late in the runs when there are fewer fish.

Each trailer-tank is equipped with a recirculation and aeration system. Mini- and midi-tanks are small units that can be mounted onto pickup trucks.

A pump system circulates river water through the fish tanks on the barge, allowing the young fish to imprint the smells of the water during the trip downriver.

The barges also have a closed-circuit recirculation system which can shut off river intake completely if they encounter contaminated water. Pumping systems maintain proper oxygen saturation and de-gas the water inflow to eliminate the potential for gas bubble disease in transported fish.

The trip from Lower Granite Lock & Dam to the mid-river release area near the Skamania light buoy downstream of Bonneville Lock & Dam takes between 79 to 96 hours.

Barges hold from 85,000 gallons to 150,000, with fish capacity ranging from 23,000 to 75,000 pounds of fish per barge.

Trucks can carry 3,500 gallons of water with 1,750 pounds of fish.

Lower Granite, Little Goose and Lower Monumental on the Snake River and McNary Dam on the Columbia River have fish transport facilities.

At these four dams, juvenile fish that go through the bypass systems can be routed either back into the river below the dam or to holding and loading facilities for loading into barges or trucks for transport.

Biological technicians from the juvenile fish facilities accompany each barge trip and supervise all loading and release operations, and barge operations enroute to the release area.

Throughout the trip, they monitor fish conditions and water quality that includes temperature and dissolved oxygen levels. Fish releases occur at various locations between Columbia River miles 138-144 during nighttime hours to minimize predator attacks.