A new downstream route for smolts in Grands-Malades

A new step was reached on Friday 26th February in the Life4Fish programme. An outlet for salmon smolts has been put under water at the Grands-Malades hydroelectric power station. This work follows the installation done in October 2020 where we built an electric barrier designed to guide smolts towards this outlet. This new passage should allow young salmon to bypass the turbines at the power station. 

With the implementation of the outlet (a sort of pipe that allows fish to swim downstream and avoid the turbines), a significant step forward has been made in the project. All the pilot solutions designed to reduce the impact of the turbines on young salmon have now been installed. They will allow impact tests to be carried out at the end of March to measure their effectiveness.