Winter 2015 featured an article announcing “The Spawn”, an environmental documentary film by VCU alumna Melissa Lesh, won first runner up at 2015 RVA Environmental Film Festival.  Produced by VCU Life Sciences’ Outreach Education Coordinator Anne Wright for the Science in the Park website, and narrated by former James River Park Manager Ralph White, the film documents the plight and management of blueback herring and American shad in the James River. The film features interviews with Michael Odom, Hatchery Manager of the Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery, and Alan Weaver, Fish Passage Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The VCU Rice Rivers Center would like to thank our partners at Harrison Lake and VDGIF for their contributions to this film. We also congratulate Ms. Lesh and Ms. Wright, on this well-deserved recognition.

Behind the scenes…

Alan Weaver, Fish Passage Coordinator for VDGIF provided some “behind the scenes” comments and details on the filming of this important documentary, “The segments at Boshers Dam were filmed last spring during  our routine  American Shad monitoring.  I am driving the electrofishing boat and  the two technicians  dipping fish are  Robbie Willis on the left and Kirk Dunn on the right.  Rick Browder from DEQ was with us to get some large fish, such as catfish and carp, for tissue sampling.  We continue to monitor the river each spring for American Shad and other migratory species.  The  adult American Shad are collected for otolith (ear stone) analysis to determine their origin from either a hatchery, or are wild.  We also continue to collect video data at the fishway to count American Shad and up to 22 other species of fish that use the fishway.  The fish at the window in this segment are Gizzard Shad but we did see some American Shad using the fishway last spring.  We passed about 80,000 fish total last year (90% being Gizzard Shad).  VDGIF is continuing to stock the James River with American Shad fry at Scottsville and we collect juvenile American Shad above Boshers and in the upper tidal James for otolith analysis to determine origin from wild or hatchery stock.  We hire a private waterman to collect the eggs on the Pamunkey River.  The eggs are taken to the VDGIF partner USFWS Harrison Lake National fish hatchery where Mike Odom runs the  shad operations.