Hathaway Pond will be ready for the herring this year.

The Rochester Conservation Commission granted approval to install a new fish ladder in the dam’s main sluiceway.

The ladder will improve the migration conditions for river herring and eels, said Doug Beaton.

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

The Coalition purchased the land early in 2011 intending to remove the dam in the hope of improving the overall health of the Sippican River and restoring fish passage.

The Coalition’s plan met with outrage from residents.

Woody Hartley, a resident of the over-55 housing community The Pines at Hathaway Pond, started a petition to stop the Coalition from removing the historic dam, which was built in 1704.

The petition garnered more than 500 signatures and the Coalition abandoned its plans.

When Beaton’s took over the dam, it was with the understanding that the fish ladder be restored and a permanent conservation restriction be put on the land.

“The Coalition turned the property over to us with the condition that we put in the ladder. We’re very happy to do that. Herring are a big part of Buzzards Bay,” Beaton said.

Last week, the members of the Conservation Commission unanimously granted Beaton’s request to install the fish ladder, which should be done within the next two to three weeks.

“It’ll be in by the time the herring start to run,” Beaton said. “Lately, there have not been much herring running in the pond. Every spring, the old ladder had been in disrepair.”

The dam has undergone repairs in the last six months. It has also been lowered 18 inches to regulate the flow of water and to prevent the dam from breaching, Beaton said.

Additionally, Beaton’s and the Coalition are collaborating on constructing a new water supply reservoir system to provide a sustainable water source for the nearby bogs. The new reservoir system is expected to be completed in 10 years.

Beaton’s relies on the dam as the primary water source for 55 acres of its bogs in Rochester.

With the ladder being put back in and the dam repaired, Beaton said the situation is a “win-win.”

“The bottom line is that it’s good for us, good for the Coalition, and what’s more, is that it’s good for Buzzards Bay,” Beaton said. “We want to get it up and running.”