Excerpt
Published: May 17, 2019 by authors Paula Ezcurra Digital Communications Specialist, Gulf of California Marine Program, University of California, San Diego and Octavio Aburto Assistant Professor of Marine Biology, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. It is shared by “The Conversation” shared under Creative Commons license.
“People living downstream in lower Lake Melville, Hamilton Inlet, Groswater Bay and on the southeast coast of Labrador have long claimed that the codfish disappeared after the Upper Churchill Hydro development came on stream. These claims are all anecdotal and haven’t benefited from scientific study, but life and livelihoods changed drastically for fishermen in that area in the late 1960’s and 1970s.”
GRK has long voiced concerns that these negative impacts could be amplified with the second dam, the Muskrat Falls Project and certainly would be severe if the Gull Island dam is built.
The following study is but one of hundreds we currently have on file from various scientific sources and rivers around the world that have had detrimental impacts on downstream freshwater fisheries and marine estuaries! These reports can validate the fishermen on the Hamilton Banks n their assessment that the Churchill Falls structures/dams and dikes, negatively impacted their ability to maintain a healthy cod fishery!
Premise of this Study
Hydropower dams degrade water quality along rivers. Water that flows downstream from the dams is depleted of oxygen, which harms many aquatic animals. The reservoirs above dams are susceptible to harmful algal blooms, and can leach toxic metals such as mercury from submerged soil.
Our field research clearly showed that coastal instability resulting from sediment loss at the mouths of the dammed rivers was harming ecosystems along the shore. For example, we found that coastal regions downstream of free-flowing rivers had significantly more plant diversity. Many of these plants were found only in coastal areas, and therefore had high conservation value.
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A healthy coastline
Keeping You Informed!
Mega Dams create MEGA DAMAGE! Are you concerned about the Grand River and the impacts of hydro development? Follow our blog and stay tuned to the latest reports and studies on the subject! Grandriverkeeper Labrador Inc. monitors what’s happening and will keep you posted on topics of interest.
Our goal is to preserve and protect the water quality and the ecological integrity of the Grand (Churchill) River and its estuaries for present and future users and for posterity through actions of public awareness, monitoring, research, networking, intervention and habitat restoration. As such one of our key objectives is to bring awareness both locally and globally of the cumulative impacts associated with megadams that we become aware of through our research.
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