TOP: Researcher Joe Hightower 

 measures a striped bass near the fallen 

 log where it was caught. 



BOTTOM: Waters and Farmer tie up at 

 the river's edge to examine the catch. 



The Quaker Neck Dam was built in 1952 

 near Goldsboro to provide cooling water for a 

 steam electric plant. Despite the installation of 

 a fish ladder to help migrating fish swim 

 upstream, most studies showed that access to 

 historical spawning grounds was restricted, 

 according to Joe Hightower of the U.S. Geologi- 

 cal Survey (USGS) and associate professor of 

 zoology at North Carolina State University. 



The dam, which was no longer needed 

 for the electric plant, was removed in 1998 — 

 an action partially supported by the N.C. 

 Fishery Resource Grant program (FRG), 

 which is funded by the N.C. General 

 Assembly and administered by North Carolina 

 Sea Grant. After the dam removal, Hightower 

 received FRG funding to use radio telemetry 

 to track American shad and striped bass to see if 

 the fish made use of the newly available 

 spawning grounds. 



"American shad historically are 

 considered a high-quality eating fish," 

 Hightower says of the largest member of the 

 shad family. In a report about habitat 

 restoration priorities, Hightower cites data 

 from the 19th century indicating that 

 American shad migrated well into the 

 piedmont. North Carolina had one of the 

 largest American shad fisheries in the United 

 States in the late 1800s, and the Neuse was 

 thought to have one of the largest runs in the 

 state, Hightower says. 



Less is known about historical popula- 

 tions of striped bass — also known as rockfish 

 — because its recreational and commercial 

 popularity is a more recent phenomenon. 



Hightower' s study on habitat restoration 

 and continued monitoring by the WRC is 

 important because many rivers have similar 

 dams. Some have been adapted — with 

 varying degrees of success — to aid fish 

 passage. But many, like the Quaker Neck, no 

 longer serve any purpose and merely block 

 migration of anadromous fishes. Hightower 

 explains that many such species have suffered 

 dramatic declines in abundance. 



"Old reports from the 1800s show that 

 American shad will go upstream as far as they 



can go, Hightower says. In a similar FRG 

 study before the dam was removed, Hightower 

 and zoology graduate student Chris Beasley 

 found the dam to be an impediment. "None of 

 the American shad with transmitters made it 

 over the dam,"' Hightower says. In the 1999- 

 2000 post dam-removal study, American shad 

 were tracked 35 miles upriver from the dam 

 site. Striped bass were tracked 56 miles above 

 the site. 



So the short answer obtained from the 

 study is that, yes, these species are traveling 

 beyond the former dam site to spawn. But 

 understanding the whole story requires a 

 glimpse at the river's history and its distinctive 

 geography. 



On the River 



Let's go back to that spring day on the 

 Neuse when Waters and Farmer were 

 surveying what is now considered primary 

 spawning grounds for American shad. Our 

 guide is Hightower. 



We put in at Ferry Bridge near 

 Goldsboro, about 10 miles upriver from the 

 former Quaker Neck Dam site. It's a good 

 morning to be on the river — early enough in 

 the year that the air is still cool and the 

 mosquitoes still sparse. 



Just downriver from the bridge, Waters 

 and Farmer are electrofishing for striped bass 

 and American shad. Waters deftly maneuvers 

 the boat, with its ungainly looking electrodes, 

 near a fallen log in the river. 



"Stripers like cover," Hightower explains. 

 "A log is a perfect place to get stripers." 



Yet it is feisty, glistening American shad, 

 fleeing the electric current, that Farmer first 

 scoops up with his net. He places them in a 

 tank that recirculates water from the river. 

 Next, a couple of stripers stiffen, surface and 

 are added to the tank where they recover and 

 begin to swim. 



Before returning the fish to the river, 

 Waters measures and weighs them, determines 

 their sex and takes scale samples to determine 

 the age, while Farmer records the data. They 

 mark the tails of American shad with a 



14 HIGH SEASON 2002 



