Abstract
Artificial fish passes are often the most effective solution to restore the ecological continuity of a dammed river. Such a pass can be built for specifically targeted fish species, based on the existing knowledge on its swimming capacity and behaviour. Usually, a wider range of possible species are present in the river and may use the fish pass. In the present study, a vertical slot fish pass has been designed for salmonid fish (namely Atlantic salmon Salmo Salar). This fish pass layout was initially tested using a scale model where juvenile fish were introduced. The study has now been extended to other species, some of them having weaker swimming capacity: bleak (Alburnus alburnus); chub (Squalius cephalus); and bullhead (Cottus gobio). Fish behaviour in the pass was observed using PIT-tag and video. PIT-tag tracking enabled to characterise the capability of the fish to cross the whole fish pass. Video recording was used to analyse in more details the behaviour of the fish in a specific pool.
Highlights
Man-made structures like weirs or dams hinder fish displacement along a river
Building fish passes is often the preferred solution to restore the ecological continuity of the river
The present study focuses on vertical slot fish passes
Summary
Man-made structures like weirs or dams hinder fish displacement along a river. This impacts severely the population of diadromous fish, whose long range migration may be blocked. The ability of the other fish species present in the river to cross the fish pass is to be questioned. These experiments demonstrated the ability of juvenile salmonid fish to cross the fish pass. These experiments have been extended to other fish species, some of them with weaker swimming capacity: bleak (Alburnus alburnus); chub (Squalius cephalus); and bullhead (Cottus gobio). After a focused state-of-the-art review and a presentation of the Meuse River fish pass project, this paper will present the experimental set-up and the instrumentation used, and will summarize the main observations and findings
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