Photo: Mikko Törmänen
Fishheart – the floating hydraulic fishway
Fishheart is a hydraulic fishway device that is installed in the tailwater of a hydropower plant. The device produces an attraction flow that hints the fish of a way upstream and lures them in.
Inside the Fishheart tubing, AI detects the fish and collects real-time data with photos and video. Finally, the fish are transported in a water-filled tube over the hydropower plant unharmed and are free to continue their journey further up the river.
A Nordic innovation, Fishheart was created at the Arctic Circle in Lapland, Northern Finland, in 2016, and testing commenced the following summer.
In summer 2025, four Fishheart units and one Satelliteheart unit are operational at hydropower plants in Northern Finland. One Fishheart unit will be operational at a dam in Australia, and another one at a hydrodam in the USA. Fishheart units will be tested in several counties, including Sweden and France.
Does Fishheart really save money, water and fish?
Yes it does. Fishheart is the most cost-effective fishway solution available.
-
A complete Fishheart fishway costs 20–30% of a technical fishway and only 5–10% of a fish elevator.
-
Fishheart can be programmed to use zero water from the reservoir by producing the attraction flow from the tailwater with built-in pumps.
-
Even with the typical setup, Fishheart uses only 5% of the water traditional fish passages require by utilizing the siphoning effect.
- Fishheart works in places with limited space, high head dams, and long transfer distances.
- The device grants safe elevation for all fish as they are constantly within water during elevation.
- The attraction flows can be adjusted to work with any fish species.
How does it work?
Every Fishheart hydraulic fishway is a tailor-made solution to perfectly fit its location. The setup includes a control container with electrical system hardware, a monitoring unit, and a control unit.
The Fishheart fishway is usually placed in the eddy area close to the dam wall and the turbine outlets. It can be repositioned in the tailwater for best results.
The system works automatically and can be operated completely remotely. Programs can be tailored to suit different fish species, different seasons, and variations in local conditions.
Fishheart’s multiple attraction flows give the fish a strong feeling of a natural migratory route upstream. When the fish swim closer to the Fishheart entrance, encouraged by the outer attraction flow, they sense the inner attraction flows coming from inside the unit’s tubing.
AI collects data, takes photos and records video
Fishheart Fisheye-AI plays a key role in Fishheart’s functions. Once the attraction flow has fish swimming inside the system, the Fisheye-AI launches: it snaps photos and records video, and sends the gathered information to cloud or local storage, where the information is processed.
Once Fisheye-AI identifies a fish in the camera system, it recognizes the species and size, and proceeds to running an analysis on whether to open the fishway or not. Migratory fish of all species, sizes and swimming capabilities can use the system to elevate over the hydropower plant. Alternatively, the feature can be used to separate unwanted and invasive species and deny them access over the dam, or lead them to the shore and into a container.
The advanced Fisheye-AI system can be used for several other purposes as well: for scientific monitoring, removing unwanted fish, as well as collecting and reporting statistics.
Great results in efficiency
After two summers of testing in 2017 and 2018, the first Fishheart hydraulic fishway was launched at Taivalkoski Hydropower Station in river Kemijoki, Northern Finland, in 2019. Three years later, in 2022, a Satelliteheart entry unit was added to the fishway.
Efficiency numbers indicate that the Fishheart fishway at Taivalkoski Hydropower Station is 10 times more efficient than the two traditional fish ladders at Isohaara Hydropower Plant further down the river combined.
Another Fishheart fishway was employed below Leppikoski Hydropower Station in river Kiehimänjoki, Central Finland, in summer 2021. The year after, the device helped 13 400 fish over the dam.
– The results are tremendous. The range of fish species has been wide, and we’re delighted that among them were 15 endangered lake trout, a very promising number, states Environmental Manager Katri Hämäläinen at Fortum, Finland’s leading energy company.
In June 2023, another Fishheart launches below Raasakka Hydropower Station in river Iijoki, also Northern Finland.
Let us show you in person
We're more than happy to provide you with a hands-on experience with Fishheart.
Contact us for a tailor-made familiarization trip to find out in detail how we can customize our hydraulic fishway to your specific needs.
