Field testing of the Tube Fishway

Freshwater fish populations are currently declining at the fastest rate of any vertebrate group, partly attributable to the effects of in-stream barriers in rivers. These barriers disrupt connectivity and impede essential freshwater fish movements and migrations. Fishways aim to restore passage, however, they are not widely implemented, often due to costs and operational challenges. To address some limitations of existing fishway designs, novel technologies are emerging, such as the Tube Fishway. The Tube Fishway uses an unsteady surge of water through pipes to lift fish across barriers. The fishway’s hydraulic and biological operation has been established in the laboratory, informed by investigations of the attraction, entry, and passage of hatchery fish through pipes. However, the Tube Fishway has yet to be operated using wild fish under field conditions. This study describes the first deployments of the Tube Fishway in Australia, during which its engineering and biological performance was evaluated during several, temporary field trials. A novel field Tube Fishway was installed and hydraulically operated at five field sites across Australia. First, detailed measurements of the fishway's hydraulic conditions were used to determine whether the fishway was safe for fish passage, followed by the safe lifting of four Australian fish species that were manually inserted to the fishway. Complementary biological experiments investigated the volitional entry of wild fish through piped entrances during systematic field tests. 1,090 fish across six, native species entered the experimental setup, and the use of cone traps, attraction flow and natural light were identified as drivers of effective fish entry and passage through pipes. The final stage of testing achieved volitional attraction, entry, and passage of fish through the Tube Fishway under field conditions. 230 fish across eight, native Australian species were successfully transported, with results demonstrating the use of cone traps improving fish transport. Using results from all field tests, recommendations for the design and operation of the Tube Fishway are presented for future installations. Present research outcomes will accelerate the development of the Tube Fishway, supporting its permanent implementation at low-head barriers to restore freshwater fish passage.

Grantor dc:publisher

UNSW, Sydney

Year dc:date

2026

Author dc:creator

• Kammanankada, Hiruni

• freshwater fish
• fish passage
• fishways
• Tube Fishway
• anzsrc-for: 40 ENGINEERING

Statement dc:rights

• open access
• CC BY 4.0
• free_to_read

Licence

• https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/32393

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/108039