Ruim Baan voor Vissen (Make Way for Fish) gets a sequel
The Wadden Fund project “Clear the Way for Fish” is set to continue. This joint project between the four northern water boards and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences aims to improve fish migration and fish stocks along the Wadden Sea coast. By making swimming routes past locks, pumping stations, weirs,dykes dams fish-friendly and removing obstacles, fish can more easily migrate between the salty Wadden Sea and the freshwater inland waters.
Suitable living environment
Some fish species, such as eel, smelt, flounder, stickleback, and river lamprey, depend on both saltwater and freshwater. Once they enter inland waters, it is important that they be able to swim further inland to spawn and/or grow. Making weirs pumping stations passable, re-meandering streams, and creating nature-friendly banks helps create a suitable habitat.
Improving fish migration routes
As part of the "Make Way for Fish" project, in addition to improving the aquatic environment, researchers are studying fish migration routes. Monitoring will determine which routes fish take and whether the measures are having the desired effect. This is being done through methods such as counts and tagging fish.
Project: Make Way for Fish
Since 2010, the water authorities have been working on the Ruim Baan voor Vissen (Make Way for Fish) project, which has significantly improved fish migration to and from the Wadden Sea. Measures have been implemented at Delfzijl, among other places, to make it easier for migratory fish to swim to the Duurswold catchwater canals, a fish passage has been constructed in the Wadden Sea dyke at Zwarte Haan in Friesland, and North Holland has been given the VisKringloop (Fish Cycle). All of these improvements facilitate fish migration from the Wadden Sea to the provinces of Fryslân, Groningen, and North Holland.
This improvement continues with the next phase of the "Clear the Way for Fish" initiative. Investments are being made in the creation of spawning and rearing grounds for migratory fish in the coastal area, and a number of bottlenecks at pumping stations locks are being resolved. This will allow fish to access larger polder areas as well.
Monitoring and knowledge sharing
This is being done in collaboration with other government agencies, nature conservation organizations, civil society groups, research institutions, commercial fishermen, and recreational anglers. Stakeholders and the business community are challenged to come up with cost-saving and innovative solutions. An annual monitoring program tracks the effectiveness of fish migration facilities, freshwater-saltwater crossings, and brackish water areas. The knowledge gained is shared both domestically and internationally. The Living Lab brings together this knowledge and expertise.
Support from the Wadden Fund
With a grant of nearly 12.8 million euros from the Wadden Fund, the water boards Wetterskip Fryslân, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, Noorderzijlvest, and Hunze en Aa’s, along with Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, are working on the next phase of the “Ruim Baan voor Vissen” project. The project makes a valuable contribution to the recovery of migratory fish populations in the Wadden Sea. By the end of 2025, a large portion of the remaining bottlenecks in fish migration should be resolved, and knowledge gained from research should have been acquired and shared. This will restore the ecological balance for fish between the Wadden Sea and the hinterland.