Protecting Fish at Hydroelectric Plants
A great advantage of hydroelectric power is that it does not produce the air pollution of fossil fuels. But a big disadvantage is that it disrupts river ecosystems. Certain fish, most notably salmon, migrate upstream every year to spawn and reproduce. Dams serve as barriers to fish migration and lead to population declines.
One way to eliminate this problem is to construct fish ladders, also called fishways or fish steps. Click each image to learn more about how fish can be protected at hydroelectric plants.
This fish ladder is a long sloping channel that gives migrating fish a safe route around the dam.
You can see a fish passage on the right side of this small dam. It lets fish have a way past the dam.
This is another example of a fish ladder. Fish use this to migrate around the dam.
This is a fish lift or elevator. The fish swim into a collection area, and when enough fish are contained, they are nudged into a device that lifts them up and empties them back into the river on the other side of the dam.
Migrating fish can also be captured then transported by barge to other areas of the river.
