Last week, plans to install a fish ladder in Hathaway Pond hit a snag, or more technically speaking, a rock.

The Rochester Conservation Commission approved a revision to the ladder's design, which will require concrete block footing rather than timber piles. The owners of the Hathaway Pond Dam are anxious to restore the fish ladder in time for the herring run this month.

“The attempts to install timber piles was unsuccessful due to the bedrock,” said the town’s Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon. “It’s a change in the design to stabilize the fishway.”

Farinon said the ladder is expected to be restored by April 15. Last month, the Conservation Commission signed off on plans to restore the fish ladder by April 5, but the installation has been delayed due to the need to revise the design.

Beaton’s Inc., the East Sandwich-based cranberry growing company, has held the rights to the dam since late 2011 after purchasing the property from the Buzzards Bay Coalition.

Early in 2011, the Coalition purchased the land with the intent to remove the dam to improve the overall health of the Sippican River. Many residents were outraged and signed a petition against the removal of the dam. The petition garnered more than 500 signatures and the Coalition abandoned its plans.

Last month, Doug Beaton, owner of Beaton’s Inc., said he was looking forward to having the ladder restored to improve the migration of the herring.

Of the process of getting the ladder restored, Beaton said, "This was a pretty good effort by a lot of people."