Effectiveness of the electric fish fence as a behavioural barrier at a pumping station

Dyke-based pumping stations have been linked with high fish mortalities during pumping events. Behavioural barriers like electric fish fences have been proposed as a promising solution to prevent entrainment of fish into pumps. In order to test the effectiveness of such barriers, the intake of a pumping station was equipped with a new generation electric fish fence while fish behaviour was observed with an adaptive resolution imaging sonar (ARIS) during non-electrified (reference) and electrified (treatment) operation modes. This study revealed the functionality of the fish fence as a behavioural barrier, with a fish turning rate of up to 72% at a mean water temperature of 4.3 degrees C and a mean current velocity of 0.05ms(-1). These field results suggest that new-generation electric fish fences may be a promising solution to reduce the effects of pumping stations on fish.