Document of dataset 6385

Dataset record

Type
Dataset
DOI
https://www.doi.org/10.14284/733
title in English
Impacts of in-river hydropower production on European eel in the River Frome, southern UK
Acronym
2014_Frome
Abstract in English

There are estimated to be about 26,000 locations where a hydropower turbine could produce electricity in the UK. Previous studies on larger hydropower schemes have indicated that the potential environmental impacts of such schemes include: changes in fish population structure; habitat alterations; loss of crucial spawning and nursery habitat; loss of biological diversity; modifications to water quality and hydrological regimes; barriers to fish migration, and disruption of longitudinal connectivity. There are concerns that small hydroelectric schemes may cause similar environmental problems and any impacts may potentially lead to changes in fish population dynamics and thus, deterioration of the river ecological status, which contravenes obligations under the EU Water Framework Directive to achieve good ecological status or potential in all surface water and ground water in all Member States (European Commission Directive 2000). These small hydroelectric schemes may cause direct mortalities to fish (e.g. where fish encounter turbines) and/or indirect mortalities (e.g. where delays to migration make fish more vulnerable to predation). However, there appears to be an acute lack of hard evidence about the impacts of run-of-river schemes on fish passage at single structures, the potential cumulative impacts of a series of structures throughout a river basin, and on the freshwater ecosystem. This limited understanding compromises our ability to develop effective mitigation measures based on sound science, or to conduct the cost-benefit analyses necessary to balance the advantages of renewable energy developments against their potential impacts on fish populations and freshwater communities. In this study, the migration behaviour of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was studied by means of acoustic telemetry in relation to an in-river hydropower station in the River Frome. The results of this study can provide information that will form the basis for advice on the impacts of small in-river hydropower schemes on migratory species.

License
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html
bibliographicCitation
Basic, T.; Piercy, J.; Moore, A.; (2015) Impacts of in-river hydropower production on European eel in the River Frome, southern UK

Temporal coverage

Temporal
Start date
2014-10-01
End date
2015-01-31
Accrual periodicity
Continuous

Geographical coverage

Spatial
England

Thesaurus terms

Keyword
Acoustic data
Acoustic detection
Acoustic receivers
Acoustic tags
Acoustic Tags
Acoustic telemetry
Acoustic Telemetry
Acoustic tracking
ANE, British Isles, England
Animal Project
Catadromous fish
Catadromous migrations
Catadromous migrations
Catadromous species
Hydropower
Network Project
Tracking

Themes

theme
Biology
Biology > Acoustics
Biology > Fish
Fisheries > Fish stocks/catches/taggings
Physical > Underwater acoustics

Taxonomic terms

Taxon keywords
Pisces
Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Ownerships

contactPoint
Tea Basic
contactPoint
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
creator
Tea Basic
creator
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
creator
Julius Piercy
creator
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
creator
Andrew Moore
creator
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

Dataset references

is part of
European Tracking Network (ETN) data

Special collections

part of special collection
European Tracking Network

Document metadata

date created
2020-01-28
date modified
2025-04-25