St. Clair River Shoreline Remediation Evaluation Site And Sample Data 2015-2016

This data set consists of counts and lengths of fish collected as part of a 2015-2016 evaluation of shoreline remediation projects in the St. Clair River, Michigan, USA. Remediation sites were sites that had undergone shoreline softening to convert vertical seawalls to sloping banks, reduce water depths, create a gradual transition between shoreline to main channel habitats, and provide structure (e.g., root wads and boulders) for fishes and other aquatic biota. Control sites were other wade-able (less than 1 meter) areas along the St. Clair River where shoreline softening projects had not taken place. Control sites included public beaches and access points to the St. Clair River and generally had limited in-stream structure (e.g., large woody debris and aquatic vegetation). Fish collections were conducted from 6 May 2015 to 20 November 2016 (excluding the winter months when ice cover prevented sampling) using backpack electrofishing, minnow traps, and gillnets. In addition to fish collection data, this dataset includes information on sampling conditions (e.g., wind speed and cloud cover) and site descriptions (e.g., substrate type, depth, and velocity).