The passage of juvenile salmon around hydropower dams is an important environmental issue. Better methods are needed to ensure that more fish reach the ocean to mature and return as adults. Although U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydropower dams have been incorporating more fish-friendly features, including fish ladders, the mortality rates of juvenile salmon are still high. It was discovered that although the salmon can sense natural obstacles or changes in the water such as logs or boulders, man-made obstacles generate signals different from those in nature and confuse the fish, causing them to swim in directions that may lead them to harm. |
Description of Research