Downstream passage of silver European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at a pumping station with a gravity sluice

Baker, Nicola; Wright, Rosalind M.; Cowx, I. G.; Murphy, Leona A.; Bolland, Jonathan D.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2020.106069

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Although there is a growing body of literature which has proposed operational changes to hazardous intakes based on ecological considerations for diadromous fish (Egg et al, 2017;Bolland et al, 2019;Baker et al,2021), river-resident fish are currently underrepresented in management plans for hazardous intakes globally. During this study, many thousands of river-resident fish across a multi-species community were passively and non-invasively quantified (using multi-beam sonar) during autumn and winter over three years with highly contrasting hydrology, including a year without pump operation.…”

Section: Conclusion and Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many agricultural, industrial and residential properties in lowland regions are therefore reliant on PS operation to prevent inundation of flood water (Baumgartner et al, 2009;Buysse et al, 2014). Yet, these structures can severely impair longitudinal (Baker et al, 2021) and lateral (Tripp et al, 2016) fish migrations and movements. Indeed, there is a lack of information on how multi-species lowland river-resident fish communities interact with PSs year-round (but see Martins et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Operational solutions for the protection of migratory fish include using spillway releases to limit fish passage through turbines at dams (Williams, 2008), opening sluice gates to facilitate downstream European eel movement at PSs (Egg et al, 2017;Baker et al, 2021) and turbine and pump shutdown during seasonal migrations (Gilligan and Schiller, 2003;Trancart et al, 2013). In turn, turbine and pump shutdown could be used during diel movements of river-resident fish (Baumgartner et al, 2009;Reckendorfer et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the Temporal Dynamics of a Lowland River Fish Community at a Hazardous Intake and Floodgate to Inform Safe Operation

et al. 2022

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Section: Conclusion and Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the Temporal Dynamics of a Lowland River Fish Community at a Hazardous Intake and Floodgate to Inform Safe Operation

et al. 2022

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“…A study by Baker et al . (2021) showed that free discharge at a pumping station may assist silver eel migration and as such may prove to be an interesting mitigating measure. Likewise, Vergeynst et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study by Baker et al (2021) showed that free discharge at a pumping station may assist silver eel migration and as such may prove to be an interesting mitigating measure. Likewise, Vergeynst et al (2021) stated that increased flow at a navigation lock could attract silver eels and therefore facilitate passage.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the downstream passage of European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla) through a tidal sluice

Huisman

Höhne

Hanel

et al. 2023

Journal of Fish Biology

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Tidal sluices are a frequent element in the tidal regions of Europe's rivers and may hinder downstream migrating European eels Anguilla anguilla. Sea level rise will reduce the possibility for tidal sluices to freely discharge water, further compressing windows of opportunity for the passage of eels. Understanding how eels utilize the discharge events of tidal sluices and which conditions facilitate successful passage is pivotal for the design of effective fish migration measures. To investigate eel migration at a tidal sluice, acoustic receivers were placed at the tidal sluice Nieuwe Statenzijl and in its tributary of the Westerwoldse Aa, the Netherlands. Of the 30 tagged eels, 26 eels reached the tidal sluice and passage success was 100%. The mean migration speed of eels in the unobstructed part of the tributary was slow (0.14 m s À1 ). The eels were delayed in their migration by the sluice and delay was right-skewed distributed with most eels showing moderate delays (<2 days), while about 10% of the tagged individuals experienced extensive delays of more than 3 weeks. The number of missed sluicing events prior to successful passage was influenced by biological characteristics such as migration speed in the tributary, weight and condition. In addition, sluicing events with rapidly increasing and high maximum discharge levels increased the success rate of an individual eel to pass the sluice.Compromising sluicing duration in favour of higher and faster increasing discharge could facilitate eel migration at tidal barriers and contribute to the recovery of this endangered species.

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Assessing migratory bottlenecks and escapement of silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) in the highly urbanized North Sea Canal basin, the Netherlands

van Keeken,

Griffioen,

Tien

et al. 2023

River Research & Apps

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Habitat fragmentation and migration barriers have attributed to the decline of European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The migration of silver eels through pumping stations, ship locks, and migration facilities within the North Sea Canal basin using acoustic telemetry and overall escapement by mark–recapture was studied. A network of 61 acoustic receivers and three PIT‐tag stations was built, and 305 silver eels were tagged with acoustic transmitters and 3923 with PIT‐tags. Of all the silver eels that were detected, 55% passed barriers between the polders and the canal and 46% also passed the barrier complex at IJmuiden to sea, mainly via the ship locks. Overall, silver eel escapement to the North Sea per year averaged 81,629 silver eels and 14.3% suffered mortality in the pumping station at IJmuiden. Migration speed was lower for silver eels that initiated their migration upstream compared with silver eels further downstream, higher for silver eels passing barriers later in the migration period, and highest at sea. This study of silver eel movement and escapement in the North Sea canal basin indicated several bottlenecks. Passage success along barriers varied strongly between sites and types of barriers. While at two smaller locations, silver eels migrated through the pedal valves in the ship lock gates, a small passage facility and the pedal valves in a ship lock at complex IJmuiden did not enhance silver eel migration. The barriers and unnatural canal system caused additional delay during silver eel migrations. Mitigation measures for management could include installing fish‐friendly pumps, using pumping stations only during the day, and in addition opening ship locks and pedal valves at the beginning of the night.

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Downstream passage of silver European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at a pumping station with a gravity sluice

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

Understanding the Temporal Dynamics of a Lowland River Fish Community at a Hazardous Intake and Floodgate to Inform Safe Operation

Understanding the Temporal Dynamics of a Lowland River Fish Community at a Hazardous Intake and Floodgate to Inform Safe Operation

Factors influencing the downstream passage of European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla) through a tidal sluice

Assessing migratory bottlenecks and escapement of silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) in the highly urbanized North Sea Canal basin, the Netherlands

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