Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF08340
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(1)

Too close for comfort: a fishway exit and a hydro-power station inlet

Ivor G. Stuart A B C , John D. Koehn A , Tim A. O’Brien A , John A. McKenzie A and Gerry P. Quinn B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, PO Box 137, Heidelberg, Vic. 3084, Australia.

B Present address: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, Vic. 3280, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: ivor.stuart@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(1) 23-33 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08340
Submitted: 14 December 2008  Accepted: 3 June 2009   Published: 29 January 2010

Abstract

A major environmental issue for hydro-electric power generation is passage of fish through turbines, or entrainment onto trash racks. At Yarrawonga Weir, on the upper Murray River in south-eastern Australia, the positioning of a fish lock resulted in the potential for upstream migrating fish to be swept back into the adjacent power station by cross flows. In 2004, a 4.5-m long steel extension flume was attached to the exit to alleviate this problem. To determine the fate of native fish after exiting the extension flume, 72 individuals (305–1015 mm long) were implanted with radio-transmitters and released into the fish lock exit channel. In 2004 (power station inflows 10 300 ML day–1), the majority of fish exited successfully (44 of 45) and only a single fish (2%) was entrained into the power station. In 2005 (power station inflows 12 000 ML day–1), fish again exited successfully (26 of 27) but with a higher proportion entrained (5 of 27; 18%). This reduced success appeared to be related to strong transverse flows with high water velocities adjacent to the fish lock exit. The efficiency of fish passage at this site might be improved by altering water management strategies, integrating engineering and fish biology, and through field-testing of proposed solutions.

Additional keywords: Australia, fish lock, migration, Murray River, potamodromous.


Acknowledgements

At Yarrawonga Weir we thank staff from Goulburn-Murray Water for extensive on-site assistance, including Tony Beamish, Andrew Gillingham, Pat Doyle, Peter Klowss and Luke Cruikshank. Funding for the study was provided by the Murray–Darling Basin Commission and we sincerely thank John Prentice and Jim Barrett. Adam Vey, NSW Department of Primary Industries, provided logistical support. From the Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) we thank Andrew Pickworth, Karl Pomorin, Justin O’Mahony, Andy Bearlin and Peter Stapleton for their expert technical support. Matt Jones, ARI, drafted Fig. 1 and Tim Marsden Fig. 2. Thanks to Martin Mallen-Cooper for helpful discussions on the ecology of migratory fish at Yarrawonga. Lee Baumgartner, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), and two anonymous referees improved an earlier draft of the manuscript. This work was carried out under NSW DPI collecting Permit F93/158 and Permit No: 01/15 under the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes.


References

Agostinho, A. A. , Gomes, L. C. , Fernandez, D. R. , and Suzuki, H. I. (2002). Efficiency of fish ladders for neotropical ichthyofauna. River Research and Applications 18, 299–306.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Baumgartner L. J., Reynoldson N., and Stanger J. (2006). Assessment of a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) for application in fish migration studies. NSW Department of Primary Industries Final Report No. 84. Narrandera, New South Wales.

Baumgartner, L. J. , Stuart, I. G. , and Zampatti, B. P. (2008). Determining diel variation in fish assemblages downstream of three weirs in a regulated lowland river. Journal of Fish Biology 72, 218–232.
Cada G. F. (1998). Fish passage mitigation at hydro-electric power projects in the United States. In ‘Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses’. (Eds M. Jungwirth, S. Schmutz and S. Weiss.) pp. 208–219. (Fishing News Books: Oxford.)

Cada, G. F. (2001). The development of advanced hydro-electric turbines to improve fish passage survival. Fisheries 26, 14–23.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Clay C. H. (1995). ‘Design of Fishways and Other Fish Facilities.’ 2nd edn. (Lewis Publishers: Boca Raton.)

Cowx I. G. (1998). Fish passage facilities in the UK: issues and options for future development. In ‘Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses’. (Eds M. Jungwirth, S. Schmutz and S. Weiss.) pp. 220–235. (Fishing News Books: Oxford.)

Dudgeon, D. (2005). River rehabilitation for conservation of fish biodiversity in monsoonal Asia. Ecology and Society 10, 15.
Ferguson J. W., Poe T. P., and Carlson T. J. (1998). Surface-oriented bypass systems for juvenile salmonids on the Columbia River, USA. In ‘Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses’. (Eds M. Jungwirth, S. Schmutz and S. Weiss.) pp. 281–299. (Fishing News Books: Oxford.)

Godinho, A. L. , and Kynard, B. (2009). Migratory fishes of Brazil: life history and fish passage needs. River Research and Applications 25, 702–712.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Koehn J. D. (2006). The ecology and conservation management of Murray cod Maccullochella peelii peelii. PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne.

Koehn, J. D. , and Harrington, D. J. (2005). Collection and distribution of the early life stages of Murray cod (Maccullochella peellii peellii) in a regulated river. Australian Journal of Zoology 53, 137–144.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Koehn J. D., Stuart I. G., and Crook D. A. (2003). Linking the ecological importance of downstream fish movements to management of Murray-Darling Basin fishes. In ‘Downstream movement of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin’. (Eds M. Lintermans and B. Phillips.) pp. 67–78. (Murray-Darling Basin Commission: Canberra.)

Koehn, J. D. , Nicol, S. J. , Leischke, J. A. , Lyon, J. P. , and Pomorin, K. (2008). Spatial ecology of an endangered native Australian Percichthyid fish, the trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis. Endangered Species Research 4, 219–225.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Lawson and Treloar Pty Ltd (2001). Yarrawonga fishway modelling. Report for Goulburn-Murray Water. Notting Hill, Victoria.

Lintermans M. (2007). ‘Fishes of the Murray-Darling Basin: An Introductory Guide’. (Murray-Darling Basin Commission: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.)

Lucas M. C., and Baras E. (2001). ‘Migration of Freshwater Fishes.’ (Blackwell Science: Oxford.)

Mallen-Cooper M. (1999). Developing fishways for non-salmonid fishes; a case study from the Murray River in Australia. In ‘Innovations in Fish Passage Technology’. (Ed. M. Odeh.) pp. 173–195. (American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD.)

Nicol, S. J. , Lieschke, J. A. , Lyon, J. P. , and Koehn, J. D. (2004). Observations on the distribution and abundance of common carp and native fish, and their response to a habitat restoration trial in the Murray River, Australia. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38, 541–552.
Northcote T. G. (1998). Migratory behaviour of fish and its significance to movement through riverine passage facilities. In ‘Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses’. (Eds M. Jungwirth, S. Schmutz and S. Weiss.) pp. 3–18. (Fishing News Books: Oxford, UK.)

O’Connor, J. P. , O’Mahony, D. J. , and O’Mahony, J. M. (2005). Movements of Macquaria ambigua, in the Murray River, south-eastern Australia. Journal of Fish Biology 66, 392–403.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Thorncraft G. A., and Harris J. H. (1997). Rock-ramp and lock fishways as tools for solving fish passage problems in New South Wales, Australia. In ‘Proceedings of the Second National Fishway Technical Workshop’. (Eds A. P. Berghuis, P. Long and I. G. Stuart.) pp. 203–226. (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane.)

Walker K. F. (1992). The River Murray, Australia: A semiarid lowland river. In ‘The Rivers Handbook’. (Eds P. Calow and G. E. Petts.) pp. 472–492. (Blackwell Scientific: Oxford, UK.)

White L., and Keller R. J. (2001). Response of fish to hydraulic stimuli within Yarrawonga fishway. In ‘Proceedings of the Third Australian Technical Workshop on Fishways’. (Eds R. J. Keller and C. Peterken.) pp. 127–135. (Queensland: Australia.)

Williams J. G. (1998). Fish passage in the Columbia River, USA and its tributaries: problems and solutions. In ‘Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses’. (Eds M. Jungwirth, S. Schmutz and S. Weiss.) pp. 180–191. (Fishing News Books: Oxford.)

Winter, H. V. , Jansen, H. M. , and Brujis, M. C. M. (2006). Assessing the impact of hydropower and fisheries on downstream migrating silver eel, Anguilla anguilla, by telemetry in the River Meuse. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 15, 221–228.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |