Shad Cam!

The Virginia Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries has activated the Shad Cam, their camera which monitors the fish passage at Bosher's Dam on the James River.

Welcome to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' (VDGIF) Shad Cam project! The Shad Cam will be active from late March through early June.

Over the past 35 years, populations of American shad, hickory shad, alewife, blueback herring, striped bass, and other anadromous fish species have steadily declined in Virginia. VDGIF, in collaboration with a number of other partners, has been working to bring back these fish, mostly by restoring access to historic spawning areas throughout coastal Virginia. In the James River, these species were known to spawn as far upstream as Eagle Rock until two sets of dams, in Lynchburg and Richmond, cut off over 400 miles of the river and tributaries. In 1999, a fishway was constructed at Bosher's Dam, providing fish with access to 137 miles of the James River and 168 miles of its tributaries for the first time in nearly 200 years. A camera at the fishway provides visitors a peek into this incredible journey as the fish return to spawn in the spring.

Sorry, I can't embed it, so you'll have to go to the link above.  So far today, it's been rather dull; hopefully the fish will start moving through soon.

Thanks to Capt. Mike Starrett for the reminder.

It's a good thing that this came through today, because the rest of the Chesapeake Bay news today was really slow.  Lots of repeat stories that I've already covered like, a good start to crab season,  sea level rise, the bill to ban gill nets in Maryland, the bill to "reform" "the Bay Diet", and "farmers suck".  There was the usual education stories, the underwater archaeology lecture in Havre de Grace, the CBF photo contest,  and a rally for clean water higher taxes in Annapolis, where you're supposed to go beg for an increase in the $#!* tax.