Designing effective fish-friendly waterway culverts: integration of hydrodynamics and swimming performance (2015-2019)
Abstract
Man-made instream structures (e.g. dams and road crossings) have contributed to major declines in native fish numbers, with > 6,000 barriers to fish migration occurring in NSW alone. Recognising this, Fisheries NSW led the development of national guidelines for the design and construction of fish friendly road crossings. Unfortunately, these guidelines have little empirical backing. This project will integrate data on the swimming ability of Australian fish species with culvert hydrodynamic modelling to better understand fish requirements in and around road crossings. These data will strengthen national design guidelines and provide the tools engineers and planners need to balance fish migration with effective water management.
