Session C3: Finland's National Fish Passage Strategy: From Fish Stocking to Fishways
Location
Groningen, The Netherlands
Event Website
http://fishpassage.umass.edu/
Start Date
22-6-2015 4:30 PM
End Date
22-6-2015 4:45 PM
Description
Abstract:
The biggest Finnish salmon and sea trout rivers were built for hydropower generation mostly during 1940’s and 1950’s. After this dam construction period, compensation for the damages to fish stocks focused on fish stocking and many migratory fish stocks were maintained only in hatcheries. Construction of fish passages In Finland was less common than in the other countries in Central and Northern Europe.
The need for a National Fish Passage Strategy arose from the development needs in water management work to preserve wild migratory fish stocks. This need has been further reinforced by the international water management objectives especially under the Water Framework Directive of the European Union and objectives for the conservation of biological diversity. The new Fish Passage Strategy was prepared in a broadly-based development group, steered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The strategy was adopted as a Finnish Government Resolution on March 2012. The purpose of the strategy is to steer the construction of fish passages during the first three periods of water management planning until the end of the 2020s.
The mission of the Finnish Fish Passage Strategy is to focus on supporting and rehabilitating the natural reproductive cycle of migratory species instead of fish stockings. The strategy engages national and regional authorities, research institutes, NGO’s, municipalities, business life and interested citizen’s to implement the strategy. With regard to the state the strategy is implemented within the government spending limits and state budget by utilizing, combing and reallocating funds from various sources. According to the strategy there are seven prioritized objectives or measures that need to be considered in each project. The strategy also names 55 dams in 20 Finnish rivers which are prioritized for fishway construction in the first phase of the implementation. Examples of these rivers, under different phase of fishway construction, are given and the results discussed.
Session C3: Finland's National Fish Passage Strategy: From Fish Stocking to Fishways
Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract:
The biggest Finnish salmon and sea trout rivers were built for hydropower generation mostly during 1940’s and 1950’s. After this dam construction period, compensation for the damages to fish stocks focused on fish stocking and many migratory fish stocks were maintained only in hatcheries. Construction of fish passages In Finland was less common than in the other countries in Central and Northern Europe.
The need for a National Fish Passage Strategy arose from the development needs in water management work to preserve wild migratory fish stocks. This need has been further reinforced by the international water management objectives especially under the Water Framework Directive of the European Union and objectives for the conservation of biological diversity. The new Fish Passage Strategy was prepared in a broadly-based development group, steered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The strategy was adopted as a Finnish Government Resolution on March 2012. The purpose of the strategy is to steer the construction of fish passages during the first three periods of water management planning until the end of the 2020s.
The mission of the Finnish Fish Passage Strategy is to focus on supporting and rehabilitating the natural reproductive cycle of migratory species instead of fish stockings. The strategy engages national and regional authorities, research institutes, NGO’s, municipalities, business life and interested citizen’s to implement the strategy. With regard to the state the strategy is implemented within the government spending limits and state budget by utilizing, combing and reallocating funds from various sources. According to the strategy there are seven prioritized objectives or measures that need to be considered in each project. The strategy also names 55 dams in 20 Finnish rivers which are prioritized for fishway construction in the first phase of the implementation. Examples of these rivers, under different phase of fishway construction, are given and the results discussed.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2015/June22/74
Comments
Presenting Author Bio: Teppo Vehanen is a senior researcher at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Helsinki, Finland. He currently chairs the Technical and Scientific Committee of EIFAAC. He has been working with regulated rivers for more than ten years, and currently focuses on connectivity issues. His research interests include also Water Framework Directive, especially evaluating biological responses to human influences on riverine fish community. Related interests include experimental studies, mainly with salmonid fishes.