Dominion Energy Eel Passage Study
AKRF was retained by Dominion Energy to facilitate the safe downstream passage of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) at Roanoke Rapids Power Station in North Carolina.
To assist Dominion Energy in meeting its FERC license requirements, we developed the scope of work for a multi-year study, analyzed the collected data, participated in multi-agency technical advisory committee meetings, and prepared annual reports summarizing the study results.
Publications
Four-year biological survey
Our scope of work included technical oversight of field contractors, developing a four-year biological survey and study plan, and analyzing the collected data.
The biological survey was conducted to collect resident American eels for estimating their population size and length distribution in Roanoke Rapids Lake and to implant acoustic tags to track outmigration of eels to the Atlantic Ocean.
The geospatial data was used for identifying environmental cues that may be associated with outmigration and to estimate the downstream passage of eels through the Roanoke Rapids Power Station Dam.
Literature reported data were used to project sex ratios, lengths, and ages that were expected in the study.
