Abstract
Much effort has been devoted to developing, constructing and refining fish passage
facilities to enable target species to pass barriers on fluvial systems, and yet, fishway
science, engineering and practice remain imperfect. In this review, 17 experts from
different fish passage research fields (i.e., biology, ecology, physiology, ecohydraulics,
engineering) and from different continents (i.e., North and South America, Europe,
Africa, Australia) identified knowledge gaps and provided a roadmap for research priorities
and technical developments. Once dominated by an engineering-focused
approach,
fishway science today involves a wide range of disciplines from fish behaviour
to socioeconomics to complex modelling of passage prioritization options in river networks.
River barrier impacts on fish migration and dispersal are currently better understood
than historically, but basic ecological knowledge underpinning the need for
effective fish passage in many regions of the world, including in biodiversity hotspots
(e.g., equatorial Africa, South-East
Asia), remains largely unknown. Designing efficient
ishways, with minimal passage delay and post-passage
impacts, requires adaptive
management and continued innovation. While the use of fishways in river restoration
demands a transition towards fish passage at the community scale, advances in selective
fishways are also needed to manage invasive fish colonization. Because of the erroneous
view in some literature and communities of practice that fish passage is largely
a proven technology, improved international collaboration, information sharing,
method standardization and multidisciplinary training are needed. Further development
of regional expertise is needed in South America, Asia and Africa where hydropower
dams are currently being planned and constructed.
dams, ecohydraulics, fish conservation, fish migration, fishway, standardization
facilities to enable target species to pass barriers on fluvial systems, and yet, fishway
science, engineering and practice remain imperfect. In this review, 17 experts from
different fish passage research fields (i.e., biology, ecology, physiology, ecohydraulics,
engineering) and from different continents (i.e., North and South America, Europe,
Africa, Australia) identified knowledge gaps and provided a roadmap for research priorities
and technical developments. Once dominated by an engineering-focused
approach,
fishway science today involves a wide range of disciplines from fish behaviour
to socioeconomics to complex modelling of passage prioritization options in river networks.
River barrier impacts on fish migration and dispersal are currently better understood
than historically, but basic ecological knowledge underpinning the need for
effective fish passage in many regions of the world, including in biodiversity hotspots
(e.g., equatorial Africa, South-East
Asia), remains largely unknown. Designing efficient
ishways, with minimal passage delay and post-passage
impacts, requires adaptive
management and continued innovation. While the use of fishways in river restoration
demands a transition towards fish passage at the community scale, advances in selective
fishways are also needed to manage invasive fish colonization. Because of the erroneous
view in some literature and communities of practice that fish passage is largely
a proven technology, improved international collaboration, information sharing,
method standardization and multidisciplinary training are needed. Further development
of regional expertise is needed in South America, Asia and Africa where hydropower
dams are currently being planned and constructed.
dams, ecohydraulics, fish conservation, fish migration, fishway, standardization