Re-defining upstream fish passage

In efforts to re-establish populations of migratory fish in areas previously blocked by man-made barriers, upstream migration of adults needs to be facilitated past those barriers. Passage solutions need to meet the standards of being safe, timely, efficient and effective. While traditional upstream adult passage solutions may meet these agency standards, the upfront planning and implementation costs associated with these solutions severely impacts the timing and financial viability of these programs. In an environment of increasing pressures on fish populations caused by climate change and habitat degradation, solutions that are cheaper and quicker to deploy are needed. In this talk we describe a pilot adult volitional passage system that took less than 3 months to install in 2017 at a high head dam in Washington State, USA, and the results from that system. This pilot was made possible by collaboration of private industry, tribal interests and the federal government. We will look at the technology used and additional testing that has been performed to make sure that the solution meets the acceptable standards. Biologists and engineers may be able to use this project as an example to accelerate other passage implementations with industry and government participation