Hydroelectric power plant and upstream fish migration: evaluation of the efficiency of a behavioural barrier

[en] Hydropower plant (HPP) weirs disrupt river ecosystems by fragmenting habitats. Moreover, the strong water currents from HPP discharges can mislead fish, causing them to enter nonviable or dangerous output channels. This study investigates a submerged behavioural barrier installed downstream of an HPP in the Our River in Belgium. The barrier’s goal is to repel fish from the turbine output channel and guide them towards a safer fishway passage, thereby aiding their upstream migration. We used radio telemetry to track the movements of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) and evaluate the barrier’s effectiveness in preventing misdirected migration. The results showed significant attraction for the output channel but 50% of the fish were successfully deterred by the behavioural barrier where the success was clearly influenced by changes in water flow conditions. The fishway had a moderate success rate,with 58% of fish using it effectively. Fish that passed through the barrier were less likely touse the fishway. These results highlight the interest of equipping certain sites with behaviouralbarriers during upstream migration and the need to improve their design to promotea balance between hydropower production and the conservation of aquatic biodiversity.

Research Center/Unit :

FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège
AFFISH-RC - Applied and Fundamental FISH Research Center - ULiège

Disciplines :

Aquatic sciences & oceanology

Author, co-author :

Benitez, Jean-Philippe ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch (FOCUS)

Sonny, Damien; Profish Technology S.A

Colson, Dylan ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch (FOCUS) ; Profish Technology S.A

Dierckx, Arnaud ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution

Ovidio, Michaël ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch (FOCUS)

Language :

English

Title :

Hydroelectric power plant and upstream fish migration: evaluation of the efficiency of a behavioural barrier

Publication date :

21 July 2025

Journal title :

Journal of Ecohydraulics

ISSN :

2470-5357

eISSN :

2470-5365

Publisher :

Informa UK Limited

Pages :

1-14

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

14. Life below water

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/24705357.2025.2533868

Funders :

SPW DG03-DGARNE - Service Public de Wallonie. Direction Générale Opérationnelle Agriculture, Ressources naturelles et Environnement

Available on ORBi :

since 31 July 2025

Statistics

Number of views

74 (10 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

54 (2 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

Algera DA, Rytwinski T, Taylor JJ, Bennett JR, Smokorowski KE, Harrison PM, Clarke KD, Enders EC, Power M, Bevelhimer MS, et al.2020. What are the relative risks of mortality and injury for fish during downstream passage at hydroelectric dams in temperate regions? A systematic review. Environ Evid. 9(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s13750-020-0184-0.
Antonio RR, Agostinho AA, Pelicice FM, Bailly D, Okada EK, Dias JHP., 2007. Blockage of migration routes by dam construction: can migratory fish find alternative routes?Neotrop Ichthyol. 5(2):177–184. doi: 10.1590/S1679-62252007000200012.
Arnekleiv JV, Kraabøl M., 1996. Migratory behaviour of adult fast-growing brown trout (Salmo trutta, L.) In relation to water flow in a regulated Norwegian river. Regulated Rivers. Res Manage. 12:39–49. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1646(199601)12:1<39::AID-RRR375>3.0.CO;2-#.
Baudoin JM, Bergun V, Chanseau M, Larinier M, Ovidio M, Sremski W, Steinbach P, Voegtle B., 2015. Assessing the passage of obstacles by fish. Concepts, design and application. Onema.
Beck C, Albayrak I, Meister J, Peter A, Selz OM, Leuch C, Vetsch DF, Boes RM., 2020. Swimming behavior of downstream moving fish at innovative curved-bar rack bypass systems for fish protection at water intakes. Water (Switzerland). 12(11):3244. doi: 10.3390/w12113244.
Benejam L, Angermeier PL, Munné A, García-Berthou E., 2010. Assessing effects of water abstraction on fish assemblages in Mediterranean streams. Freshwater Biology. 55(3):628–642. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02299.x.
Benitez J-P, Nzau Matondo B, Dierckx A, Ovidio M., 2015. An overview of potamodromous fish upstream movements in medium-sized rivers, by means of fish passes monitoring. Aquat Ecol. 49(4):481–497. doi: 10.1007/s10452-015-9541-4.
Benitez J-P, Dierckx A, Nzau Matondo B, Rollin X, Ovidio M., 2018. Movement behaviours of potamodromous fish within a large anthropised river after the reestablishment of the longitudinal connectivity. Fish Res. 207:140–149. doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2018.06.008.
Blanchet S, Rey O, Etienne R, Lek S, Loot G., 2010. Species-specific responses to landscape fragmentation: implications for management strategies. Evol Appl. 3(3):291–304. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-4571.2009.00110.x.
Boyce MS, Vernier PR, Nielsen SE, Schmiegelow FKA., 2002. Evaluating resource selection functions. Ecol Modell. 157(2-3):281–300. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00200-4.
Branco P, Amaral SD, Ferreira MT, Santos JM., 2017. Do small barriers affect the movement of freshwater fish by increasing residency?Sci Total Environ. 581-582:486–494. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.156.
Brown RS, Cooke SJ, Anderson WG, McKinley RS., 1999. Evidence to challenge the “2% rule” for biotelemetry. North Am J Fish Manage. 19(3):867–871. doi: 10.1577/1548-8675(1999)019<0867:ETCTRF>2.0.CO;2.
Bunt CM., 2001. Fishway entrance modifications enhance fish attraction. Fisheries Management Eco. 8(2):95–105. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2400.2001.00238.x.
Calles O, Karlsson S, Hebrand M, Comoglio C., 2012. Evaluating technical improvements for downstream migrating diadromous fish at a hydroelectric plant. Ecol Eng. 48:30–37. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2011.05.002.
Clay CH., 1995. Design of Fishways and Other Fish Facilities 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers, CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781315141046.
Cooke SJ, Bergman JN, Twardek WM, Piczak ML, Casselberry GA, Lutek K, Dahlmo LS, Birnie-Gauvin K, Griffin LP, Brownscombe JW, et al.2022. The movement ecology of fishes. J Fish Biol. 101(4):756–779. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15153.
Coutant CC, Whitney RR., 2000. Fish behavior in relation to passage through hydropower turbines: a review. Trans Am Fish Soc. 129(2):351–380. doi: 10.1577/1548-8659(2000)129<0351:FBIRTP>2.0.CO;2.
Dodd JR, Cowx IG, Bolland JD., 2017. Efficiency of a nature-like bypass channel for restoring longitudinal connectivity for a river-resident population of brown trout. J Environ Manage. 204(Pt 1):318–326. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.09.004.
Fielding AH, Bell JF., 1997. A review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models. Environ Conserv. 24(1):38–49. doi: 10.1017/S0376892997000088.
Garcia de Leaniz C., 2008. Weir removal in salmonid streams: implications, challenges and practicalities. Hydrobiologia. 609(1):83–96. doi: 10.1007/s10750-008-9397-x.
Gelder J, Benitez J-P, Ovidio M., 2024. What do fish do after passing through a fishway? A radio-telemetry study on patrimonial holobiotic species. Ecol Freshwater Fish. 33(3): e12782. doi: 10.1111/eff.12782.
Gibson C A, Meyer J L, Poff N L, Hay L E, Georgakakos A., 2005. Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems. River Res Applic. 21(8):849–864. doi: 10.1002/rra.855.
Gregory S, Li H, Li J., 2002. The conceptual basis for ecological responses to dam removal: resource managers face enormous challenges in assessing the consequences of removing large dams from rivers and evaluating management options. BioScience. 52(8):713–723. doi: 10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0713:TCBFER]2.0.CO;2.
Hanley JA, McNeil BJ., 1982. The meaning and use of the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Radiology. 143(1):29–36. doi: 10.1148/radiology.143.1.7063747.
Huet M., 1949. Aperçu des relations entre la pente et les populations piscicoles des eaux courantes. Schweiz Z Hydrologie. 11(3-4):332–351. doi: 10.1007/BF02503356.
Lamouroux N, Gore JA, Lepori F, Statzner B., 2015. The ecological restoration of large rivers needs science-based, predictive tools meeting public expectations: an overview of the Rhône project. Freshwater Biol. 60(6):1069–1084. doi: 10.1111/fwb.12553.
Larinier M, Travade F., 1999. Downstream migration: problems and facilities. BFPP - Bulletin Francais de la Peche et de la Protection Des Milieux Aquatiques72:181–210. doi: 10.1051/kmae:1999012.
Liermann CR, Nilsson C, Robertson J, Ng RY., 2012. Implications of dam obstruction for global freshwater fish diversity. BioScience. 62(6):539–548. doi: 10.1525/bio.2012.62.6.5.
Lucas MC, Baras E., 2001. Migration of Freshwater Fishes. Fishing News Books, Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford.
Lundqvist H, Rivinoja P, Leonardsson K, McKinnell S., 2008. Upstream passage problems for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in a regulated river and its effect on the population. Hydrobiologia. 602(1):111–127. doi: 10.1007/s10750-008-9282-7.
Matley JK, Klinard NV, Barbosa Martins AP, Aarestrup K, Aspillaga E, Cooke SJ, Cowley PD, Heupel MR, Lowe CG, Lowerre-Barbieri SK, et al.2022. Global trends in aquatic animal tracking with acoustic telemetry. Trends Ecol Evol. 37(1):79–94. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.001.
Menard S., 2001. Applied logistic regression analysis. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE publications.
Moreira M, Hayes DS, Boavida I, Schletterer M, Schmutz S, Pinheiro A., 2019. Ecologically-based criteria for hydropeaking mitigation: a review. Sci Total Environ. 657:1508–1522. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.107.
Noatch MR, Suski CD., 2012. Non-physical barriers to deter fish movements. Environ Rev. 20(1):71–82. doi: 10.1139/a2012-001.
Noonan MJ, Grant JWA, Jackson CD., 2012. A quantitative assessment of fish passage efficiency. Fish Fisheries. 13(4):450–464. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00445.x.
Olden JD, Naiman RJ., 2010. Incorporating thermal regimes into environmental flows assessments: modifying dam operations to restore freshwater ecosystem integrity. Freshwater Biol. 55(1):86–107. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02179.x.
Ordeix M, Pou-Rovira Q, Sellarès N, Bardina M, Casamitjana A, Solà C, Munné A., 2011. Fish pass assessment in the rivers of Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). A case study of weirs associated with hydropower plants and gauging stations. Limnetica. 30(2):405–426. doi: 10.23818/limn.30.29.
Ovidio M, Baras E, Goffaux D, Birtles C, Philippart JC., 1998. Environmental unpredictability rules the autumn migration of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in the Belgian ardennes. Hydrobiologia. 371:263–274. doi: 10.1007/978-94-011-5090-3_30.
Ovidio M, Baras E, Goffaux D, Giroux F, Philippart JC., 2002. Seasonal variations of activity pattern of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a small stream, as determined by radio-telemetry. Hydrobiologia. 470(1-3):195–202. doi: 10.1023/A:1015625500918.
Ovidio M, Philippart J-C., 2002. The impact of small physical obstacles on upstream movements of six species of fish: synthesis of a 5-year telemetry study in the River Meuse basin. Hydrobiologia. 483(1-3):55–69. doi: 10.1023/A:1021398605520.
Ovidio M, Capra H, Philippart J-C., 2007. Field protocol for assessing small obstacles to migration of brown trout Salmo trutta, and European grayling Thymallus thymallus: a contribution to the management of free movement in rivers. Fisheries Management Eco. 14(1):41–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2006.00522.x.
Ovidio M, Hanzen C, Gennotte V, Michaux J, Benitez J-P, Dierckx A., 2016. Is adult translocation a credible way to accelerate the recolonization process of Chondrostoma nasus in a rehabilitated river?. Presented at the Cybium, 43–49.
Ovidio M, Sonny D, Dierckx A, Watthez Q, Bourguignon S, de Le Court B, Detrait O, Benitez JP., 2017. The use of behavioural metrics to evaluate fishway efficiency. River Research & Apps. 33(9):1484–1493. doi: 10.1002/rra.3217.
Ovidio M, Sonny D, Watthez Q, Goffaux D, Detrait O, Orban P, Nzau Matondo B, Renardy S, Dierckx A, Benitez J-P., 2020. Evaluation of the performance of successive multispecies improved fishways to reconnect a rehabilitated river. Wetlands Ecol Manage. 28(4):641–654. doi: 10.1007/s11273-020-09737-w.
Ovidio M, Dierckx A, Benitez J-P., 2023. Movement behaviour and fishway performance for endemic and exotic species in a large anthropized river. Limnologica. 99:126061. doi: 10.1016/j.limno.2023.126061.
Peduzzi P, Concato J, Kemper E, Holford TR, Feinstein AR., 1996. A simulation study of the number of events per variable in logistic regression analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 49(12):1373–1379. doi: 10.1016/S0895-4356(96)00236-3.
Piper AT, Wright RM, Kemp PS., 2012. The influence of attraction flow on upstream passage of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at intertidal barriers. Ecol Eng. 44:329–336. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.04.019.
Radinger J, Britton JR, Carlson SM, Magurran AE, Alcaraz-Hernández JD, Almodóvar A, Benejam L, Fernández-Delgado C, Nicola GG, Oliva-Paterna FJ, et al.2019. Effective monitoring of freshwater fish. Fish Fish. 20(4):729–747. doi: 10.1111/faf.12373.
Rahel FJ, McLaughlin RL., 2018. Selective fragmentation and the management of fish movement across anthropogenic barriers. Ecol Appl. 28(8):2066–2081. doi: 10.1002/eap.1795.
Reid AJ, Carlson AK, Creed IF, Eliason EJ, Gell PA, Johnson PTJ, Kidd KA, MacCormack TJ, Olden JD, Ormerod SJ, et al.2019. Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 94(3):849–873. doi: 10.1111/brv.12480.
Renardy S, Benitez J-P, Tauzin A, Dierckx A, Nzau Matondo B, Ovidio M., 2020. How and where to pass? Atlantic salmon smolt’s behaviour at a hydropower station offering multiple migration routes. Hydrobiologia. 847(2):469–485. doi: 10.1007/s10750-019-04108-w.
Santos RMB, Sanches Fernandes LF, Cortes RMV, Varandas SGP, Jesus JJB, Pacheco FAL., 2017. Integrative assessment of river damming impacts on aquatic fauna in a Portuguese reservoir. Sci Total Environ. 601-602:1108–1118. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.255.
Schilt CR., 2007. Developing fish passage and protection at hydropower dams. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 104(3-4):295–325. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2006.09.004.
Scruton DA, Pennell CJ, Bourgeois CE, Goosney RF, Porter TR, Clarke KD., 2007. Assessment of a retrofitted downstream fish bypass system for wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts and kelts at a hydroelectric facility on the Exploits River, Newfoundland, Canada. Hydrobiologia. 582:155–169. doi: 10.1007/s10750-006-0557-6.
Silva AT, Lucas MC, Castro-Santos T, Katopodis C, Baumgartner LJ, Thiem JD, Aarestrup K, Pompeu PS, O’Brien GC, Braun DC, et al.2018. The future of fish passage science, engineering, and practice. Fish Fish. 19(2):340–362. doi: 10.1111/faf.12258.
Sonny D, Beguin J, De Oliveira E, Theunissen P, Lerquet M, Roy R, Teichert N., 2025. Effectiveness of an electrical barrier to improve silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) escapement over a hydropower dam on the meuse river, Belgium. River Res Appl. doi: 10.1002/rra.4425.
Stoilova V., 2024. Behavioural guidance systems for downstream migrating fish: a mini-review. in GeoPlanet: Earth and Planetary Sciences. p. 385–396. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-56093-4_31.
Suzuki FM, Dunham JB, Silva LGM, Alves CBM, Pompeu PS., 2017. Factors influencing movements of two migratory fishes within the tailrace of a large neotropical dam and their implications for hydropower impacts. River Res Apps. 33(4):514–523. doi: 10.1002/rra.3105.
Wilkes MA, Mckenzie M, Webb JA., 2018. Fish passage design for sustainable hydropower in the temperate Southern Hemisphere: an evidence review. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries. 28(1):117–135. doi: 10.1007/s11160-017-9496-8.
Yao X, Sun S, Yang S, Liu S, Li G., 2024. Design and effectiveness evaluation of a fish guide weir. Ecol Eng. 209:107391. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107391.
Zarfl C, Lumsdon AE, Berlekamp J, Tydecks L, Tockner K., 2015. A global boom in hydropower dam construction. Aquat Sci. 77(1):161–170. doi: 10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0.
Zuur AF, Hilbe JM, Ieno EN., 2013. A beginner’s guide to GLM and GLMM with R: A frequentist and Bayesian perspective for ecologists. Newburgh, UK: highland Statistics Ltd.