A scaled Denil fishway for upstream passage of Arctic Grayling

Journal of Ecohydraulics
By: , and 

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Abstract

Denil fishways have been used with varying success to help fish pass impediments to upstream passage such as low head dams or irrigation diversion structures. They have been tested for hydraulic and fish passage performance in laboratory and field settings, usually with only minor modifications to the fishway geometry or dimensions. We tested a reduced (0.6) scale prototype of the standard-sized Denil fishway to determine if the smaller fishway, which requires less water flow, would successfully pass Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus). The scaling factor was informed by analyzing previously published scalable Denil fishway rating equations. A prototype was tested in an open-channel flume using 8 treatments with 3 trials per treatment and 8 fish per trial. Each treatment had a prescribed combination of headwater and tailwater depths. Overall, 93% (178/191) of the fish volitionally entered the fishway and of these 91% (162/178) passed successfully. Entrance and passage were reduced only in treatments with the highest hydraulic slopes and highest water velocities at the downstream end of the fishway (i.e. with high headwater depths and low tailwater depths). The 0.6-scaled Denil fishway is likely a good alternative to standard-sized Denil fishways to enhance upstream mobility of Arctic Grayling in small, water-limited streams.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A scaled Denil fishway for upstream passage of Arctic Grayling
Series title Journal of Ecohydraulics
DOI 10.1080/24705357.2022.2105756
Volume 9
Issue 1
Year Published 2024
Language English
Publisher Taylor & Francis
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Seattle, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description 11 p.
First page 96
Last page 106
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