Experimental Assessment of the Influence of Fish Passage Geometry Parameters on Downstream Migrating Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Smolts Behavior

The fragmentation of rivers caused by the construction of dams and weirs disturbs fish migration and poses a threat to fish populations and aquatic biodiversity. Fish passages around hydraulic structures aim to restore river connectivity; however, the effective design of fish passages is a challenging problem that depends on several processes. The present experimental study investigated how the characteristics of a trash rack at the entrance of a fish passage for downstream migration affects fish behavior and subsequently the effectiveness of the fish passage. A series of experiments was carried out to systematically analyze the behavior of Atlantic salmon smolts in a flume with two outlets featuring the same 1:1 physical model of the entrance of a downstream passage with or without a trash rack. The parameters that were tested were the spacing of the vertical round bars of the trash rack, the location of the trash rack at the fish passage, and the velocity gradient at the entrance of the passage. Aggregated results showed that only 34% of the fish selected the outlet with a trash rack to exit the flume while 66% preferred the unobstructed outlet. More fish swam through the outlet with the trash rack when the spacing of the vertical bars increased from 10 cm to 20 cm and when the rack was placed in the higher velocity region compared to the lower velocity one. These results show that a trash rack acts as an obstacle to Atlantic salmon smolts passing through a downstream passage. When possible, trash racks should be avoided at the entrance of downstream fish passages.

Automated summary

The construction of dams and weirs disrupt fish migration and threaten aquatic biodiversity. Fish passages aim to restore river connectivity, but designing effective fish passages is challenging. This study investigated how the characteristics of a trash rack at the entrance of a fish passage affect fish behavior and the passage's effectiveness. The results showed that a trash rack acts as an obstacle to fish passing through the downstream passage, and it should be avoided if possible.