These fish ladders are critical to the upstream and downstream passage of anadromous fish such as alewives, shad, sea-run brown trout, and possibly Atlantic Salmon. Annually, these fish migrate up the Royal River and its tributaries to spawn and the following year the young migrate to the ocean to develop into adults. Fish ladders provide a route for the fish around the human-caused obstructions such as dams. In these times of dwindling state and federal budgets, the FORR have agreed to manage the fish ladders at Elm Street and Bridge Street with the supervision of the appropriate agencies.
Baffles are the wooden pieces that are inserted between the cement walls of the fish ladder.
They provide eddies, or calm spots, the fish use as they swim through the ladder. Hancock Lumber of Yarmouth donated the lumber and hardware needed for this project. The Yarmouth Parks Department assisted by letting us use their tool shed and electricity during construction. After the ladders were ready the gates were open and the fish ladders were operational. We have been opening the ladders every May and closing them in November for three years now.