Economic and policy considerations regarding hydropower and migratory fish

Abstract

Environmental standards have rarely been applied for promoting the joint production of hydropower and migratory fish. The objective of this study was to review existing research results on the effectiveness and costs of alternative measures improving fish migration, which are necessary for the development of environmental standards. The ranking of alternative measures indicates that cost-effective combinations of measures are case-specific and highly dependent on measure design, implementation and maintenance. In addition to tailored ex ante cost-effectiveness analyses, other preconditions for cost savings include effective and affordable monitoring and enforcement, and cooperation among power companies that share water-use rights within a river basin as well as among other stakeholders, such as the local community, fishermen and recreational users.

The future of fish passage science, engineering, and practice

“…To date, there has been an overemphasis on facilitating and monitoring fish passage for a few species. On one hand, this is understandable; concentration on economically important fish stocks for which long-distance migrations are a part of the life cycle (e.g., anadromous salmonids; Williams, 1998;Nieminen et al 2016) is always likely to be a first priority. And yet, restrictions to the free movement of other native fishes (and other biota, including invasive species) influence the entire community and resultant ecological interactions (McLaughlin et al, 2013).…”

“…Habitat fragmentation of watercourses as a result of impoundment and water control purposes is considered one of the major threats to worldwide aquatic biodiversity, including freshwater fishes (Liermann, Nilsson, Robertson, & Ng, ; Nicola, Elvira, & Almodovar, ; Poulet, ). Fish migrations (synchronized movements by populations or population components driven by the transitory availability and changing location of key resources) (Lucas & Baras, ) and dispersal (one‐way movement, away from a site as a result of individual behavioural decisions made at different life stages, temporal and spatial scales) (Radinger & Wolter, ) in freshwater environments have played an important role in the settlement of human populations (Lucas & Baras, ) for purposes such as food consumption, culture and recreation (Nieminen et al., ). Given the importance of freshwater fish populations and the many ecosystem services they provide (Lynch et al., ), efforts to ensure that fish populations are maintained even in the face of development are critical.…”

“…Most of the world's rivers have been or are currently being dammed (Nilsson, Reidy, Dynesius, & Revenga, 2005;Zarfl, Lumsdon, Berlekamp, Tydecks, & Tockner, 2014). Large dams are primarily used for water storage and hydropower development (Nieminen, Hyytiäinen, & Lindroos, 2016), including in some of the world's biodiversity hotspots (Winemiller et al, 2016); however, large dams are outnumbered a hundred-or thousand-fold (Lucas, Bubb, Jang, Ha, & Masters, 2009) by smaller dams, weirs and barrages for purposes such as irrigation, municipal water withdrawal, flood control, low-flow augmentation, recreation and navigation with large effects on catchment connectivity. Habitat fragmentation of watercourses as a result of impoundment and water control purposes is considered one of the major threats to worldwide aquatic biodiversity, including freshwater fishes (Liermann, Nilsson, Robertson, & Ng, 2012;Nicola, Elvira, & Almodovar, 1996;Poulet, 2007).…”

“…The rate of construction of fishways has increased in recent decades; however, the performance of passing fish through these structures remains low in many regions (Bunt, Castro-Santos, & Haro, 2016;Nieminen et al, 2016;Noonan, Grant, & Jackson, 2012;Roscoe & Hinch, 2010;Williams & Katopodis, 2016). Reasons for this failure are unclear, but lack of biological knowledge and flaws in construction and/or operation of fishways are likely two major causes (Kemp, 2016).…”

Integrating Economic and Ecological Benchmarking for a Sustainable Development of Hydropower

“…The aspect of WLF and the ecosystem functions of storage reservoirs adds to the already challenging task of consolidating the development of hydropower with the preservation of affected ecosystems. Recent research emphasizes the need to balance the economic gains from hydropower generated by dams in running rivers with the negative ecological effects on, e.g., migratory fish species [52]. This case presents a trade-off between global benefits in the form of low-carbon energy and local costs in the form of potential harmful ecological effects.…”