Shallow and gently flowing areas are important for juvenile fish, as they often drift downstream and seek shelter in cavities among gravel, logs, and stones. These areas consist of flat, rocky shores and shallow zones, ideally with dead wood. They are regions that have been heavily impacted by previous clearings and are important to restore in the restoration process.
Things to consider:
- Keep an eye on the water level. It’s easy to misjudge and build structures that are too low when the flow is low and too high when the water level is high. Try to work as close to average flows as possible to ensure that functions like rearing environments are not lost.
- Don’t hesitate to build dry areas in the watercourse during lower flows than average. Generally, you can think, “the lower the water level, the larger the proportion of dry structures.”
- Monitor the surrounding environment. Make sure to open up blocked side channels. These often provide good rearing habitats for fish and insects while distributing energy in the watercourse.
- What does the terrain look like? Try to integrate the restoration with the surrounding terrain to achieve a more natural appearance. If there is a strong outer bend that has been blocked by a gravel bank, it may be appropriate to move the material to raise the inner bend or create a shallow area where the rearing habitats are located, while keeping the main flow in the outer bend.
- Follow the habitat type. Avoid creating flat, rocky areas in places where they would not naturally occur.
