Fishheart Ltd. to deliver innovative Fish passage system to the United States

Finland based Fishheart Ltd. has launched a three-year project at the Tunnel Hydropower Plant owned by FirstLight Power in Preston, Connecticut, marking Fishheart Ltd.'s first large-scale installation site in North America.

The project follows spring 2024 tests conducted at the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project on the Santee River in South Carolina. Both projects are for the benefit of migratory fish species with state and federal restoration goals, including American Shad and river herring. For the first two to three years, the system will be installed at the Tunnel Hydropower Plant. If successful, it is intended to be relocated to the Stevenson Hydropower Plant in Monroe, Connecticut as a permanent fish passage solution there.

The objective of the project at the Tunnel Hydropower Plant is to demonstrate the system’s ability to attract and safely guide targeted fish species past the power plant. The Fishheart fishway is a hydraulic fish passage system that includes a floating fishway unit below the dam and a pipeline running over the dam. By requiring less permanent infrastructure construction, it is intended to be a more cost effective and adaptable system than traditional fishways.

The fishway operates based on the siphon principle, guiding fish to swim into the system using attraction water flowing from upstream. Fishheart Fishways has been successfully operating at four river sites in Finland for several years. In addition to the Tunnel Hydropower Plant project, the company is currently running a test project in Menindee, Australia.

 The project will serve as an important demonstration for fish management authorities, including NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Approval from these agencies is crucial for the Fishheart fishway to gain acceptance for permanent use in North America.

For FirstLight, the long-term goal of the trial is to develop a successful, cost-effective solution for fish passage where it is required at its hydropower plants in North America. The Tunnel plant was chosen as the initial test site because it is located on a small river with the target species present. This environment provides a controlled setting for evaluating the fishway's efficiency.

The fish passage system operates for 2–3 months each year during the American Shad and river herring migration season, which occurs between April and July.

More information about the project:

Matt Nimmo
+358 50 557 2556
matt@fishheart.com