European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

[ report an error in this record ] Print this page

Partly temporarily acoustic receiver network and partly permanent acoustic receiver network to assess diadromous fish migration in the Scheldt river basin, Belgium.
Contact: Coeck, Johan

Availability: Creative Commons License This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Description
This study aimed the evaluation of this fish migration position and if fish could pass the weir, by acoustic telemetry. A total of 35 fish were tagged of 5 different species and 2 hybrids: common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Wels catfish (Silurus glanis), European flounder (Platichthys flesus), roach (Rutilus rutilus), European eel (Anguilla anguilla), roach x rudd and roach x bream. We evaluated individual fish behaviour up-, downstream and near the weir and evaluatied if and when fish passed the weir. more

Longitudinal and lateral connectivity of rivers is necessary for fish to successfully fulfill their life cycle. In Flanders, fish are obstructed in their essential free migrations by weirs, sluices, mills, pumping stations, …, which are needed to control the water level. The weir on the river Dijle upstream of Mechelen formed partially a physical barrier for the upstream migration of fish to the upstream part of the Dijle basin and the total of the Demer basin. An attempt has been made to resolve the shortcommings of the weir as migration obstruction, by the setting of a fish migration position. Results showed that 21 of 35 fish were able to pass the weir at specific hydrological conditions and weir management options. The number of passages differed between species, but happened always in the periods that higher passage could be expected following their lifestyle. The study indicates the importance and benefits of a fish-friendly weir management. Next, a part of the receiver network of this study is maintained after the end of this study, to enable the tracking of large migratory species, such as eel and shad, which live and spawn, respectively, in the Scheldt river basin up to the rivers Dijle and Nete (confluencing in the river Rupel, which is a major tributary of the river Scheldt).

Scope
Themes:
Biology > Ecology - biodiversity, Biology > Fish
Keywords:
Fresh water, Acoustic telemetry, Acoustic Telemetry, Fish behaviour, Migration, Migration barriers, Spawning migrations, Tracking data, Belgium, Dijle R., Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758), Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758, Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758), Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus, 1758), Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758

Geographical coverage
Belgium, Dijle R. [Marine Regions]

Temporal coverage
2015 - 2018

Taxonomic coverage
Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]
Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758 [WoRMS]

Contributors
Vlaamse overheid; Beleidsdomein Omgeving; Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek (INBO), moredata creator
Coeck, Johan
Pauwels, Ine
Vermeersch, Sophie

Related datasets
Parent datasets:
European Tracking Network (ETN) data
LifeWatch observatory data: fish acoustic receiver network

Dataset status: Completed
Data type: Data
Data origin: Sensor platform
Metadatarecord created: 2018-01-03
Information last updated: 2018-03-01
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy