Dredging For New Fish Habitats

Dredging is a necessary and beneficial practice that can create better ecosystems for fish. Unprecedented changes in our marine environment has led to the disruption of species habitats, leading to the loss of biodiversity and an imbalance in the food chain. To counter this problem, dredging is being used as a tool to create new healthier habitats with more sustainable balances between predators and prey.

In this blog post we will discuss some of the core benefits associated with dredging for fisheries restoration, including improved water circulation patterns, increased access to resources like food and oxygenation potentials, as well as its role in providing refuge for both juvenile and mature fish populations. 

1. Benefits associated with dredging for fisheries restoration
2. Why is it important to dredge for new fish habitats?
3. Eco-Friendly Dredging

Benefits associated with dredging for fisheries restoration

Core benefits associated with dredging for fisheries restoration includes improved water circulation patterns and increased access to resources. Dredging helps create more oxygenated habitats for fish by creating deeper channels that allow for increased water flow, which in turn increases the amount of dissolved oxygen available in an environment. This is especially important for juvenile and spawning fish populations who are sensitive to low dissolved oxygen levels, as well as species that require cooler waters for successful reproduction. Furthermore, dredging can create new passages and channels that enable fish to access food sources in deeper, often inaccessible areas of water.

Dredging also provides a refuge for fish populations from predators or other environmental changes by creating clear pathways to safety. By removing sediment build up or obstructions, it will allow fish to escape the predation of other species, as well as providing protection from changes in water temperature or salinity.

Why is it important to dredge for new fish habitats?

Dredging for new fish habitats is essential in order to create and maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems. Dredging creates space for new fish populations to thrive, by removing sediment buildup from waterways, providing oxygenated water for fish, and creating new areas of shallow water that are ideal breeding grounds. Additionally, dredging reduces the impact of pollution on fish by clearing away contaminants and restoring clean water to the environment. Finally, new habitats created through dredging can be used as refuge during times of extreme weather or pollution, allowing fish populations to increase in a safe environment.

Dredging for new fish habitats is also beneficial for humans, as it allows for improved navigation on waterways and more recreational opportunities such as fishing and boating. By creating healthy aquatic habitats, we are helping to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy these activities for years to come.

Eco-Friendly Dredging

An excellent example of this renewed interest in using dredging for environmental rehabilitation is along the Mississippi River. A major riverway for travelers and merchants since the very earliest of settlements, the Mississippi has been dramatically reshaped, redirected, and narrowed. While this makes it easier to move boats up and down the river, this homogenization of the river has had a major effect on the native fish populations that live there.

Partnering with US Fish & Wildlife, the US Army Corps of Engineers realized that by making the Mississippi more accessible to boats, they were making it difficult for fish to live and spawn. Fish need more than simply water to survive successfully in a river. Indeed, they need variations in water height, speed, and side channels. To recreate these features, the Corps has turned to dredgers to create new environments for fish in the Mississippi.

Making The Most Of Dredged Materials

To keep the waterways of the river navigable, the river is routinely dredged. In the past, these dredged materials have been simply piled to the sides of the river, creating steep river banks. While this is a cost-effective measure, it is not an environmentally friendly one. The Corps is now utilizing new attachments for their dredgers that off-set this process. Instead of piling the materials to the sides of the river, Army Corps engineers are fitting their dredgers with long, flexible tubing. These tubes move the dredged material into positions and places that create small islands, side channels, and variations in the banks.

By constructing these features, native fish populations have the variegated water features they need to spawn, search for food, or live. Now, multiple kinds of fish at different stages of life can thrive in the Mississippi River once again.

Studying The Results

While these programs are underway, their results are not fully realized. To test whether these changes are supporting more fish populations, the Corps has partnered with a US Fish & Wildlife office in Carterville to conduct before and after studies of sections of the river. The two organization hope that this new use of dredgers will result in a proliferation of fish populations that have dwindled in recent years.

CHOOSE U.S. AQUA SERVICES TODAY

When it comes to choosing a dredging company, you want the best. You look for experience, knowledge, know-how, perseverance, and reputation. U.S. Aqua Services exhibits all of the signs of a top-notch dredging company. Our team has a combined 100 plus years of dredging experience. 

In addition, we offer our immaculate dredging equipment for rent to those who wish to DIY their dredging project, from a backyard pond dredging to sand dredging. We offer support and guidance every step of the way.  Our dredging systems have the capabilities of dredging up to 1000 ft of water.

If you are looking to buy or rent the best dredging company in Louisiana and the United States, choose U.S. Aqua Services today!

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About U.S. Aqua Services

U.S. Aqua Services was created to support the dredging process in advancing commerce and responding to its many challenges. To accomplish this, our dredging company assembled an exceptional group of experienced individuals and a diverse inventory of dredge equipment.

We offer dredging equipment rental services so you can have access to the latest and greatest in dredging technology without having to pay to maintain it, transport, and store it

With an emphasis on mobility, dependability, durability, diversity, efficiency, and safety, our dredging rental company can ensure that our different types of dredging systems are easy to move through any terrain and can work in the most rugged and remote environments. Our multi-function hydraulic systems are built with jetting and mechanical options that can efficiently move loose sediment or stiff layers of clay.

US Aqua services also and maintains a ready fleet of Amphibious Marsh Equipment capable of completing projects in some of the harshest and most remote environments. U.S Aqua is also the dealer for Louisiana of the amphibious vehicle Fat Truck. No matter the size or scope of the job or the remoteness of your work location, you can rely on Fat Truck’s industrial off-road utility vehicles to get the job done right.