Last week I visited Murcia and a fish migration project in the Segura River. The Segura River is one of Europe’s most regulated rivers with a multitude of dams and water abstractions (for agriculture in hot but dry conditions) as well as interbasin transfer of water. It also receives a heavy nutrient load and many exotic species have invaded its waters. During later years, water quality has improved and, as part of the LIFE project Segura Riverlink, improving longitudinal connectivity for local fish species is now on the agenda. Several fishways have been or will be constructed, both vertical slot fishways and naturelike fishways, and at least one migration obstacle has been permanently removed. The target species for the efforts is the Andalusian barbel (Luciobarbus sclateri), a fish that typically migrates within the river system. Read more about the project in this LIFE-folder.

Andalusian barbel (Luciobarbus sclateri)

A newly constructed naturelike fishway in the Segura River.

A vertical slot fishway in the Segura River.

Fishway, migration obstacle, river and dry surroundings.

Fiskvägen vid Geesthacht i Elbe.

Under förra veckan organiserades Fish Passage – International conference on river connectivity best practices and innovations i Groningen, Nederländerna. Konferensen innehöll en mängd presentationer om fiskvandring och fiskpassage. Presentatörerna var biologer, ingenjörer, forskare och branschfolk och kom från sex olika världsdelar. NRRV och Karlstads Universitet var väl repressenterat: Larry Greenberg var moderator för en keynote session och presenterade “Conservation of a landlocked salmonid population in a regulated river: Taking a holistic approach”. Olle Calles var en av konferensens huvudorganisatörer och presenterade “On the performance of a new upstream and downstream passage facility for diadromous fish species” samt “A telemetry study on marble trout (Salmo marmoratus) and Italian barbel (Barbus plebejus) at a nature-like fish ramp in an Alpine river”. Stina Gustafsson var med i konferensens Advisory board och presenterade “Habitat compensation in a nature-like fishway”. Min egen presentation hade titeln “Postspawning survival and downstream passage of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in a regulated river: Is there potential for repeat spawning?”. Konferensens abstracts kan läsas här

Under helgen innan konferensen gavs fem kurser på temat fiskpassage, närmare bestämt Dam removal, Downstream Passage, Techinical and Nature-like fishway designs, Fishway evaluations och Integrating Fish Passage in Watershed Restoration Plans: How to prioritize actions and monitor their effectiveness. Olle Calles var en av kursledarna på kursen om nedströmspassage.

Konferensen avslutades med studiebesök vid nederländska fiskvägar, slussar och tidvattensbarriärer. Eller till Elbe och en av Europas största fiskvägar vid dammen i Geesthacht utanför Hamburg.