Holt's Lake Fish Ladder

An aluminum steep pass ladder was installed at Holt's Lake Dam in the early spring of 2002 in order to provide fish passage for American shad (also known as white shad), hickory shad and alewife (also known as river herring). These are all anadromous fish that live in the ocean most of their lives but return to fresh water streams to spawn (reproduce). The ladder should provide a highway for these popular fish to return to their historic rearing grounds for many years (video clip of fish ladder in action - 3.5 MB .avi format). There are 104 miles of tributary stream upstream of Holt's Lake Dam, including Black Creek and its tributaries.

Holt's Lake Dam is in Johnston County, NC near Smithfield, NC. Black Creek is a tributary of the Neuse River.

Fish Species affected by the Holt's Lake Fish Ladder Project Alewife Alosa Pseudoharengus American Shad Alosa sapidissima Hickory Shad Alosa mediocris

Visit the North Carolina Ecological Services Home Page
Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page

Keywords={same keywords listed above - used for search tools}