Development of a National Fish Passage Database for Canada (CanFishPass): Rationale, Approach, Utility, and Potential Applicability to Other Regions

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual design of the Canadian Fish Passage (CanFishPass) Inventory Project. The final product will be a websiteon which users may construct and print/export customized reports based on searchable fields within 3 separate databases.

Table 1.  Fields for the Canadian References Table and Form.

Property	Fields	Data Type	Description
Identity	Reference ID	AutoNumber	Unique ID number
	Reference type	Text Value list	Peer reviewed research article, government/industry report, personal communication, other
	Fish ID	Number	Unique ID number for searching and linking with Fish Table
	Name of dam/barrier	Lookup from the Fishway Table using dam/barrier name	Dam/barrier name, links Canadian Reference Table with the Fishway Table
Fish info*	Scientific name	Lookup from Fish Table using Fish ID	e.g., Onchorhynchus mykiss
	Common name	Lookup from Fish Table using Fish ID	e.g., rainbow trout
	Adult/juvenile	Text Value list	Adult, juvenile or both
	Size range	Text	Range in size of individuals that use the fishway
	Dates of use	Text	Dates fishway is used by species
	Temperature range	Text	Temperature range over which the fish use the fishway
	Spawning migration?	Text- Value list	Yes or no
	Mean fishway velocity (m/s)	Number	Average velocity of water flow through the fishway
	Maximum fishway velocity (m/s)	Number	Maximum velocity of water flow recorded in the fishway
	Estimate of attraction	Number	Portion of individuals attracted to the fishway (%)
	Estimate of passage success	Number	Portion of individuals that successfully transit the fishway (%)
	Mean transit time	Number	Mean time it takes fish to transit the fishway (h)
	Reference	Memo	e.g., Smith et al, 2009 Journal of Fish Biology, 45: 124-131 or John Smith, personal communication, April 12, 2009
	Notes	Memo	Notes pertaining to species use of fishway
*Each incidence of fish use in a given reference will be given its own record.

Table 2. Fields for the Fishway Table and Form

Property	Fields	Data Type	Description
Identity	Name of dam/barrier	Text	Dam/barrier name
	Fishway type	Text Value list	Vertical slot, Denil, Ice Harbour, pool and weir, trap and sort, eel ladder, lamprey ramp, pool and orifice, pool and riffle, rock ramp, other, unknown
Location	GPS coordinates	Text	Latitude and longitude
	GPS latitude	Number	In decimal format
	GPS longtitude	Number	In decimal format
	UTM coordinates	Text	Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates
	Province/Territory	Text Value list	Province that the fishway is found in
	Ecozone	Text Value list	Ecozones are defined by the Environment Canada ecozones map
	County or Regional District	Text	County or Regional District
	Municipality	Text	Closest city or township
	Stream/River	Text	Water body in which the fishway resides
Engineering	Date built	Text	When was the fishway built?
	Engineer	Text	Who designed the fishway?
	Contracted by	Text	What agency contracted the fishway?
	Constructed by	Text	What company constructed the fishway?
	Plans held by	Text	Who would an agency need to contact to obtain plans?
	Type of fishway	Text	e.g., Denil, vertical slot
	Purpose of fishway	Text	What species was the fishway designed to pass?
	Designed based on biology?	Text Value list	Was the fishway design based on the biology of the species? Yes/no
Design specifications	Bank or midstream entrance	Text Value list	Bank/midstream
	Entrance position in water column	Text Value list	Bottom, mid-column or surface
	Elevation	Number	Height difference between fishway exit and entrance (m)
	Length of fishway	Number	Length of fishway (m)
	Inclination	Number	Angle of inclination (%)
	Mean channel depth	Number	Mean channel depth during fishway operations (m)
Operations	Operated by	Text	Agency responsible for operations
	Period of operation	Text	Dates of operation
	Monitoring equipment	Text	Any monitoring equipment (e.g., video counting, PIT-tag antennas)
	Evaluating studies?	Text Value list	Have evaluation studies been performed?
	Nature of evaluation studies	Memo	e.g., Survey of fish use, passage efficiency
	Post construction modifications?	Text Value list	Yes/no
	Date of modification	Text	Month/year
	Reason for modification	Text
	Did modification alter passage?	Text Value list	Increase/decrease/no effect/unknown
	Species known to use fishway	Memo	List all species known to use the fishway
	Species known not to use the fishway	Memo	Species for which it is known that the fishway presents a significant barrier to migration
Notes	Engineering notes	Memo	Notes regarding design and construction
	Operations notes	Memo	Notes regarding operations
	Photographs	OLE object	Photographs of the fishway

Table 3. A report generated searching Fish ID, common name, species name, province or territory, fishway type, the name of the dam or barrier, the stream or river where the fishway is found, and the reference (results shown are for coho salmon pool and weir fishways in British Columbia only).

Fish ID	Common Name	Species Name	Province or Territory	Fishway Type	Name of Dam or Barrier	Stream or River	Reference
18	Coho salmon	Oncorhynchuskisutch	British Columbia	Pool and Weir	Puntledge River lower hatchery	Puntledge River	Hirst 1991. Impacts of the operation of existing hydroelectric developments on fishery resources in British Columbia. Volume I.
					Coates Creek Fishway	Coates Creek	http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townid=4046
							Accessed October 23, 2009.
					Millstream Creek Falls	Millstream River	http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/protection/restoration/millstreamcreek.htm
							Accessed October 23, 2009
					Comox Dam	Puntledge River	Hirst 1991. Impacts of the operation of existing hydroelectric developments on fishery resources in British Columbia. Volume I.