Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management – 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Fish Passage Restoration Program

Background: On January 19, 1996, the tug Scandia and barge 

North Cape, carrying 3.9 million gallons of two blends of No. 2 fuel 

oil, grounded off Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode 

Island. Approximately 828,000 gallons of oil were released to 

coastal waters. With high winds and heavy wave action, the oil was 

carried into sediments and throughout the water column, spreading 

throughout Block Island Sound and South County coastal salt ponds. 

The spill resulted in significant loss of lobster, surf clams, birds, and 

other aquatic biota including finfish, and the widespread oiling also 

closed recreational fishing for several months. 

Addressing Finfish Injury and Lost Recreational Fishing: Trustee agencies including the Rhode Island 

Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have been responsible for addressing the resource injuries and lost uses 

resulting from the North Cape spill. The Trustees, along with public input, considered a number of alternatives for 

addressing loss of finfish and the extended closure of the local recreational coastal fishery. The selected alternative for 

addressing these impacts was to restore passage of anadromous fish species such as river herring to access their 

freshwater spawning grounds. 

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa 

aestivalis), collectively known as river herring, are an essential part 

of Rhode Island’s coastal ecosystems. These anadromous fish 

provide a forage base for a variety of fish and wildlife both in the 

ocean, where they spend most of their lives, and in the rivers and 

streams they ascend each spring to spawn. Unfortunately, many of 

Rhode Island’s rivers and streams have been historically dammed, 

preventing river herring from reaching essential upstream spawning 

grounds. These migration blockages have not only impacted herring 

stocks and their fisheries, but also the fish and wildlife that readily 

prey upon them, including many commercial and recreational fish 

such as striped bass, bluefish, and summer flounder. 

North Cape Oil Spill Restoration 

Highlights 

The project selected was to enhance a river herring run in the Pt. Judith Pond watershed, thereby 

increasing forage fish populations helping to sustain recreationally and commercially important 

fish species such as striped bass, bluefish and summer flounder, as well as other fish and wildlife

A pool-and-weir structural fishway was completed in 2006 allowing alewife to access high quality 

spawning and nursery habitat in 220-acre Indian Lake in South Kingstown, Rhode Island
In southern New England, adult river herring ascend waterways in early April through June. Alewife prefer pond and 

lake habitat for spawning, while blueback herring typically spawn in flowing waters. Juveniles remain in the nursery 

throughout the summer, out-migrating to the ocean from July through November. Juveniles then remain in coastal 

waters, returning as adults to their natal waters after 3 to 5 years at sea. 

The Trustees investigated fish blockages on several streams draining to the South County salt ponds, and targeted the 

Saugatucket River, which discharges to Pt. Judith Salt Pond, for restoration. Although an existing herring run is 

present on the Saugatucket River, the run size is substantially smaller than historic levels prior to the construction of 

multiple dams on the river. Indian Lake, a 220-acre shallow waterbody, located in the upper 12-square mile 

Saugatucket River watershed and formed in part by an earthen berm with stone spillway, was identified as an 

important site for providing alewife access to expansive, high quality spawning and nursery habitat. 

Indian Lake Fishway Project: Indian Lake dam, a 1000-foot long and 12-foot high structure, and 35-foot wide 

stone spillway outlet where the fish passage need was identified, is located four river miles upstream of Point Judith 

Salt Pond in Wakefield. Fresh Meadow Brook discharges from Indian Lake and flows into the Saugatucket River. 

The project site is situated on privately-owned property, and the Trustees worked cooperatively with the residential 

community landowners to explain the purpose and function of the fishway, and secure from them an approval of the 

fishway design and an easement to both construct and permanently maintain the fishway. This project could not have 

happened without the much appreciated support by the property owners and other lakefront community residents. 

The project included installation of a 90-foot long pool-and-weir 

fishway to allow both upstream access during the spring adult 

migration, as well as out-migration by adults and juveniles during the 

summer through fall. Concrete weirs, each with 6-inch wide slots to 

facilitate fish passage, form pools where migrating fish can rest before 

moving further upstream. The fishway was designed by Kleinschmidt 

Associates of Pittsfield, ME with technical review by USFWS and 

NOAA. 

NOAA, on behalf of the 

Trustees, contracted Site 

Tech Corp of Providence, RI and Charter Environmental, Inc., of 

Wilmington, MA to construct the pool-and-weir fishway. Construction 

work was completed by the late January 2006. 

The fishway is operated by removing and reinstalling a metal weir slot 

plate in the uppermost weir during the spring adult migration period (AprilJune) and when juveniles are moving downstream (July-November). 

Fishway operation and maintenance is the responsibility of RIDEM. 

In spring 2004 and 2006, RIDEM released more than 1000 adult alewife 

each year, trucked in alive from another Rhode Island river and released to 

Indian Lake to help jumpstart the run in the Saugatucket River and imprint 

alewife to the lake. Thousands of juvenile alewives have been documented 

passing through the fishway in both 2004 and 2006. Routine fish 

monitoring by RIDEM and NOAA is being conducted for at least five 

years to evaluate the effectiveness of the fishway. 

By constructing the fishway and providing alewife access to Indian Lake, spawning and nursery habitat in the 

watershed is expected to increase by at least tenfold. It is possible that an annual herring run size of tens of thousands 

of fish may eventually be restored to the Saugatucket River, helping to address the injuries from the North Cape spill. 

For More Information: Jim Turek (401) 782-3338, James.G.Turek@noaa.gov

 Phil Edwards (401) 783-0281, Philip.Edwards@dem.ri.gov