Fish, undammed
You wouldn’t be a freshwater fish for quids in this world.
As human culture and ingenuity has progressed, the construction of instream barriers such as dams and weirs has grown as a significant threat to freshwater fish species worldwide.
There are more than 2 million dams and other stream barriers in the US alone.
Now, a team of researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has found a way to get fish around – or rather over – barriers, reconnecting them with breeding grounds and preferred habitats.
They’ve developed a “fishway” that utilises the acceleration of flows in a tube system to pump the fish – protected by a cushion of water – vertically through a tube up and over an obstruction, thus delivering them safely into the water on the other side.
Barriers like dam walls and weirs stop fish migrating in our rivers, but scientists at UNSW Sydney have invented a creative way to get around - or over - the problem.
Known as the fish tubeway , the inexpensive and energy-efficient solution works by literally pumping fish through a high-speed tube. Protected by a cushion of water, they go up and over the dam, arriving safely on the other side.
A prototype of the invention was shown off at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale recently. Now the scientists are in talks with Parramatta City Council in Sydney about the possibility of installing one on Darug country at the Marsden St Weir.
Tube fishway technology will help fish over dam walls
21 Dec, 2020 11:00 PM
5 minutes to read
The Country
Engineers and scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney have come up with an ingenious way to get fish past dam walls, weirs and other barriers blocking their migration in Australian rivers.
The so-called tube fishway is a low-cost and low-energy installation that works by pumping fish at high velocity – protected by a cushion of water – through a tube running over the obstructing barrier, to deliver them safely into the water on the other side.
And following a successful demonstration of a prototype recently at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale, the group is in talks with Parramatta City Council in Sydney about the possibility of installing one at the Marsden St Weir.
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New fishway technology to get fish up and over those dam walls
The tube fishway allows fish to glide past dam walls, weirs and other river barriers, with the potential to revitalise Australia’s ailing freshwater fish stocks.
A view of Manly Dam at Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Photo: UNSW
Engineers and scientists at UNSW Sydney have come up with an ingenious way to get fish past dam walls, weirs and other barriers blocking their migration in Australian rivers.
The so-called tube fishway is a low-cost and low-energy installation that works by pumping fish at high velocity – protected by a cushion of water – through a tube running over the obstructing barrier to deliver them safely into the water on the other side.