Novel Tube Fishway successfully attracts and lifts wild fish

Barriers have significantly disrupted fish movement and migration, contributing to global population declines. The Tube Fishway offers a novel solution for upstream passage that uses the flow of water through pipes to lift fish upstream. Potential design advantages include reduced water demands, and an ability to retrofit to existing barriers or sites with space constraints. This study presents the first Tube Fishway deployment that attracted and safely transported wild fish. Installed downstream of Ewen Maddock Dam (Australia), the fishway operated over 20 experimental hours and successfully transported 230 fish across eight species over a height of 3.4 m. The most effective configurations included a one-way cone trap with a 3-minute attraction interval and 0.26 m/s attraction flow (25 fish/h), or combined attraction and auxiliary flows of 0.13 m/s and 0.28 m/s, respectively (29 fish/h). DIDSON acoustic camera footage indicated auxiliary flow enhanced fish activity near the entrance, while the fishway’s operational surge temporarily deterred fish activity for up to 80 s. This field validation confirms the capacity of the Tube Fishway to transport wild fish. Operational parameters including entry design, flow configuration, and timing, can influence the fishway’s effectiveness. These findings support the development of the Tube Fishway as a solution for restoring riverine connectivity.

The novel Tube Fishway system was implemented in the field for the first time and attracted and lifted 230 wild fish.
Using a cone trap at the fishway entrance consistently achieved higher fish counts.
Acoustic camera results indicated that the fishway’s operation would deter fish activity, however this was restored after 80 s.

The novel Tube Fishway system was implemented in the field for the first time and attracted and lifted 230 wild fish.
Using a cone trap at the fishway entrance consistently achieved higher fish counts.
Acoustic camera results indicated that the fishway’s operation would deter fish activity, however this was restored after 80 s.

拦河构筑物已严重干扰鱼类的移动与洄游，导致全球鱼类种群数量下降。管式鱼道（Tube Fishway）是一种新型上行洄游通道解决方案，通过管道内的水流推动鱼类向上游移动。该设计的潜在优势包括需水量更低，且可改造适配现有拦河构筑物或空间受限的场址。本研究首次完成管式鱼道的现场部署，成功吸引并安全转运野生鱼类。该鱼道安装于澳大利亚埃文·马多克大坝（Ewen Maddock Dam）下游，开展了超过20小时的试验运行，成功在3.4米的水位差下，转运8个物种共230尾鱼类。最优配置包括采用3分钟吸引间隔、0.26米/秒吸引流速的单向锥形诱捕装置（单小时诱捕25尾鱼类），或分别采用0.13米/秒吸引流速与0.28米/秒辅助流速的组合配置（单小时诱捕29尾鱼类）。DIDSON声学相机（DIDSON acoustic camera）监测数据显示，辅助流速可提升入口附近的鱼类活动活跃度，而鱼道运行产生的水流冲击会暂时干扰鱼类活动，持续时长可达80秒。本次野外验证证实了管式鱼道具备转运野生鱼类的能力。入口设计、水流配置与运行时序等运行参数，均可影响鱼道的诱集转运效率。上述研究结果为管式鱼道作为恢复河流连通性的解决方案提供了支撑。
该新型管式鱼道系统首次完成野外实地部署，成功吸引并转运230尾野生鱼类。
在鱼道入口设置锥形诱捕装置，可稳定获得更高的鱼类诱集数量。
声学相机监测结果显示，鱼道运行会暂时抑制鱼类活动，但该影响会在80秒后恢复。
该新型管式鱼道系统首次完成野外实地部署，成功吸引并转运230尾野生鱼类。
在鱼道入口设置锥形诱捕装置，可稳定获得更高的鱼类诱集数量。
声学相机监测结果显示，鱼道运行会暂时抑制鱼类活动，但该影响会在80秒后恢复。