Fish protection and downstream fish migration: State of the art and recent developments

It is important to prevent fish from entering the intakes of hydroelectric powerplants as this can harm fish populations and disrupt the ecosystem. There are already various technical solutions in place to address this issue, but they often come with drawbacks such as high costs or significant hydraulic losses. To find better solutions for the future, research is being conducted at various institutes, with the aim of minimizing the negative impact on fish, while still harnessing the power of water for electricity generation. This article aims to provide a simplified and summarized overview of the state of the art and the current state of research on the topic of fish protection and downstream fish passage, using a typical hydroelectric powerplant on a river as an example.