Stephen Amaral

Role: Speaker

Steve has B.S. and M.S. degrees in fisheries biology, both from the University of Massachusetts. For the past 30 years, Steve has been extensively involved in the design, evaluation, and application of fish passage and protection technologies at all types of water intakes. He has participated in laboratory and field testing with various screening technologies, angled bar racks and louvers, and behavioral guidance systems, as well as conducted design and biological performance reviews for upstream and downstream passage alternatives being considered for application at hydropower projects. Steve has also been involved in instream flow assessments and turbine passage survival evaluations for conventional hydropower and hydrokinetic projects. He has led investigations of injury mechanisms experienced by fish passing through turbines and has assisted with the development of theoretical models for predicting turbine passage survival. Much of Steve's fish passage experience has included studies with endangered or threatened species, including American Eel, Shortnose and Lake Sturgeon, and Atlantic Salmon.