Abstract
The disruption of river connectivity through the construction of barriers used for hydropower development and water control purposes can severely damage river ecosystems, reduce the quality of fish habitat, and prevent the upstream migration of fishes. Fishways function as a means of passage around barriers for fish migrating both upstream and downstream. In 2009, the CanFishPass project was initiated in a partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Carleton University to create a searchable database containing specific information on fishways in Canada built to enable upstream passage. In this paper we evaluate the information gathered in the CanFishPass database to identify trends concerning fishways and fish passage in Canada, yielding, we believe, the first national-scale trend analysis related to fishways anywhere in the world. Although CanFishPass may not include all fishways in Canada, our analysis identified 211 which are primarily located along the coasts and along major rivers and water bodies such as the Great Lakes. British Columbia has the largest number of fishways in Canada (62) and Prince Edward Island has the fewest (2). The most popular type of fishway is the pool and weir fishway (85), followed by vertical slot (37) and Denil type fishways (23). Fishway construction has proceeded at a steady rate since the 1970’s, although there has been an increase in the number of nature-like fishways since the year 2000. The majority of fishways are installed to pass salmonids in Canada, although some fishways on warmwater systems pass large components of the fish community. Only 9 % of the fishways in Canada have been studied using methods that enable proper evaluation of biological effectiveness. We recommend that evaluations be carried out at new and existing fishways and that these evaluations enable the determination of attraction and passage efficiency. Additionally, we recommend that future fishway projects and evaluations in Canada be advised to submit details of their work to CanFishPass so that knowledge of these fishways is centralized. Similar efforts on a global scale could lead to opportunities to identify patterns in fishway design and biological effectiveness that would ultimately inform decision making and improve connectivity where deemed necessary.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acreman MC (2001) Hydro-ecology: linking hydrology and aquatic ecology. IAHS, United Kingdom
Bruce C (1930) Paper on Fishways. Trans Am Fish Soc 60(1):240–243
Bunt CM, Katopodis C, McKinley RS (1999) Attraction and passage efficiency of white suckers and smallmouth bass by two denil fishways. N Am J Fish Manage 19:793–803
Bunt CM, van Poorten BT, Wong L (2001) Denil fishway utilization patterns and passage of several warm water species relative seasonal, thermal and hydraulic dynamics. Ecol Freshw Fish 10:212–219
Bunt CM, Castro-Santos T, Haro A (2012) Performance of fish passage structures at upstream barriers to migration. River Res Appl 28:457–478
Canadian Dam Association (2003) Montreal 2003 symposium on dams. Can Dam Assoc, Winnipeg
Clay CH (1995) Design of fishways and other fish facilities, 2nd edn. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton
Desrochers D (2009) Validation de l’efficacité de la passe migratoire Vianney-Legendre au lieu historique national du canal de Saint-Ours—saison 2008. Milieu Inc pour Parcs Canada, Québec, Canada, 47 pp + 3 annexes
Donnelly CR, Paroschy N, Holmes P (2000) The process of decommissioning a dam in Ontario. Proc Can Dam Assoc 2000
Drinkwater KF, Frank KT (1994) Effects of river regulation and diversion on marine fish and invertebrates. Aquat Conserv 4:135–151
Dynesius M, Nilsson C (1994) Fragmentation and flow regulation of river systems in the northern third of the world. Science 266:753–762
Ead SA, Katopodis C, Sikora GJ, Rajaratnam N (2004) Flow regimes and structure in pool and weir fishways. J Environ Eng Sci 3:379–390 Fisheries Act, 2010. R.S., 1985, c. F-14. Dep Justice Can
Garboury MN, Newbury RW, Erickson CM (1995) Pool and riffle fishways for small dams. Manitoba Nature Resource, Fish Branch, Winnipeg
Hatry C, Binder TR, Hasler CT, Clarke KD, Katopodis C, Smokorowski KE, Cooke SJ (2011) Development of a national fish passage database for Canada (CanFishPass): rationale, approach, utility, and potential applicability to other regions. Can Wat Resour J 36:219–228
Katopodis C (1992) Introduction to fishway design. Working Doc¸ Freshw Inst, Cent and Arct Reg, Fish and Ocean Can, p70
Katopodis C, Williams JG (2011) The development of fish passage research in a historical context. Ecol Eng. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2011.07.004
Katopodis C, Derksen AL, Christensen BL (1991) Assessment of two Denil fishways for passage of freshwater species. Introduction to fishway design. In: Colt J, White RJ (Ed.) Fish Bioeng. pp 306–324
Katopodis C, Kells JA, Acharya M (2001) Nature-like and conventional fishways: alternative concepts? Can Wat Resour J. 26(2):211–232
Katopodis C, Aadland LP (2006) Effective dam removal and river channel restoration approaches. IAHR Int J River Basin Manag 4(3):153–168
Khan LA (2006) A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model analysis of free surface hydrodynamics and fish passage energetics in a vertical-slot fishway. N Am J Fish Manage 26:255–267
Knights B, White EM (1998) Enhancing immigration and recruitment of eels: the use of passes and associated trapping systems. Fish Manage Ecol 5:459–471
Langill DA, Zamora PJ (2002) An audit of small culvert installations in Nova Scotia: habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. Can Tech Rep Fish Aquat Sci 2442(7):35
Larinier M (2001) Environmental issues, dams and fish migration. Dams, fish and fisheries: opportunities, challenges and conflict resolution. FAO Fish Tech Pap 419:45–90
Lucas MC, Baras E (2000) Methods for studying spatial behaviour of freshwater fishes in the natural environment. Fish Fish 1:283–316
Malmqvist B, Rundle S (2002) Threats to the running water ecosystems of the world. Environ Conserv 29(2):134–153
Manzer JI, Morley RB, Girodat DJ (1985) Terminal travel rates for Alberni Inlet sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Can Tech Rep Fish Aquat Sci 1367:19
Moores RB, Ash EGM (1984) Fishway and counting fence operations in Newfoundland and Labrador 1949–79. Can Dat Rep Fish Aquat Sci 477:130
Nilsson C, Reidy CA, Dynesius M, Revenga C (2005) Fragmentation and flow regulation of the World’s large river systems. Science 308:405–408
Noonan MJ, Grant JWA, Jackson CD, In Press. A quantitative assessment of fish passage efficiency. Fish Fisheries 1–15. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00445.x
Royal Botanical Gardens (1998) The Cootes Paradise fishway: carp control techniques at Royal Botanical Gardens. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Royal Botanical Gardens, pp 1–12
Oldani NO, Baigun CRM, Nestler JM, Goodwin RA (2007) Is fish passage technology saving fish resources in the lower La Plata River basin? Neotrop Ichthyol 5(2):89–102
Poff LN, Allan JD, Bain MB, Karr JR, Prestegaard KL, Richter BD, Sparks RE, Stromberg JC (1997) The natural flow regime: a paradigm for river conservation and restoration. Bio Sci 47(11):769–784
Pon LB, Cooke SJ, Hinch SG (2006) Passage efficiency and migration behaviour of salmonid fishes at the Seton Dam fishway. Final Rep Bridge Restor Progr Proj 05.Se.01, p105
Pratt TC, O’Connor LM, Hallett AG, McLaughlin RL, Katopodis C, Hayes DB, Bergstedt RA (2009) Balancing aquatic habitat fragmentation and control of invasive species: enhancing selective fish passage at sea lamprey control barriers. Trans Am Fish Soc 138(652–665):2009
Rodriguez TT, Agudo JP, Mosquera LP, Gonzalez EP (2006) Evaluating vertical-slot fishway designs in terms of fish swimming capabilities. Ecol Eng 27:37–48
Roscoe DW, Hinch SG (2010) Effectiveness monitoring of fish passage facilities: historical trends, geographic patterns and future directions. Fish Fish 11:12–33
Schwalme K, Mackay WC, Lindner D (1985) Suitability of vertical slot and denil fishways for passing north-temperate, non salmonid fish. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 42:1815–1822
Thiem JD, Binder TR, Dumont P, Hatin D, Hatry C, Katopodis C, Stamplecoskie KM, Cooke SJ (2012) Multispecies fish passage behaviour in a vertical slot fishway on the Richelieu River, Quebec Canada. River Res Appl. doi:10.1002/rra.2553
Thorncraft GA, Harris JH (1996) Assessment of rock-ramp fishways. Report for Environmental Trusts, NSW Environment Protection Authority, Border Rivers Commission, Department of Land and Water Conservation, Wyong Shire Council, pp 1–38
www.fishbase.org, Accessed March 2012.
www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=9D404A01-1, Environment Canada website, Accessed October 2012
http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectionCode=165&storyCode=2019652, Water Power Magazine website, Accessed October 2012
Acknowledgments
Comments by peer reviewers have improved this manuscript. Financial assistance was provided by the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory at Carleton University and Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Center of Expertise on Hydropower Impacts on Fish and Fish Habitat. Cooke is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program. Hatry, Thiem, Cooke, Smokorowski, Clarke and Katopodis are members of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada HydroNet Strategic Network. We thank the many individuals and organizations that have contributed data to CanFishPass.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hatry, C., Binder, T.R., Thiem, J.D. et al. The status of fishways in Canada: trends identified using the national CanFishPass database. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 23, 271–281 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-012-9293-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-012-9293-3