Turbulence is omnipresent in natural and man-made environments, having a range of impacts on the biota in aquatic systems, from positive to detrimental to neutral. Lessons learned from fish habitats choices and fish swimming are applied to the context of fish passage to look at the importance of turbulence on design and performance. Past studies have shown a strong correlation between fish performance and physical parameters.
While a wide range of parameters (biological and physical) with various length and time scales are important in determining success of fish passage, we will focus on determining physical parameters responsible for the challenges fish encountered in fish passage structures and the type of measurements needed to refine the design of these structures. New developments such as selective fish passage will also be explored.
A deeper understanding of the biology and physics, better numerical models and new sensor technology allow us to dream about new and exciting advances in fishways design and performance evaluation.