Nature-Like Fishways: Design, Assessment & Monitoring

Nature-like fishways are being constructed worldwide as a fish passage solution that enhances aquatic habitat as well as passes a wide variety of fish species and life stages.  The design philosophy for these fishways is ecologically minded, aiming to achieve a good fit with the specific riverine environment they are constructed in.  Nature-like fishways have been referred to as many things: natural fishways, nature-mimicking fishways, naturalized fishways, semi-natural fishways, stone fishways, bypass channels, step-pool fishways, riffle-pool fishways, pool and weir channels, stream-like channels, pool-type fishways, rock ramp fishways, rocky ramps, roughened ramps, riprap fishways, rapids, riffles, etc.  For the purpose of this symposium we will be referring to all of these non-technical fishways as nature-like fishways.  This symposium will focus on the design, assessment, and monitoring of these innovative fishway approaches.

Nature-like fishways are a relatively new and innovative approach to fish passage.  In recent years this practice is becoming far more common in the USA, as the experience from Europe has started to influence US designs.  The design of these fishways is still under development and much can be learned from completed projects and ongoing efficiency monitoring.  This information is often hard to obtain since many of these efforts are not yet in the published literature.  This symposium helps to bring this invaluable information to the potential project planners, resource managers and designers of upcoming nature-like fishway projects.