Make Way for Fish gets a sequel

Suitable living environment

Some fish species, such as eel, smelt, flounder, stickleback, and river lamprey, depend on both salt and fresh water. Once they are inland, it is important that they can swim further inland to spawn and/or grow. Making weirs and pumping stations passable, re-meandering streams, and constructing nature-friendly banks creates a suitable living environment. 

Improving fish migration routes

In addition to improving the living environment, the Ruim Baan voor Vissen (Make Way for Fish) project is also looking at fish migration routes. Monitoring will determine which routes fish take and whether the measures are having the desired effect. This is being done by means of counts and by tagging fish, among other things. 

Project Make Way for Fish

Since 2010, the water boards 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 storage canals, a fish passage has been constructed in the Wadden Sea dike 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 will continue with the follow-up to Make Way for Fish. Investments are being made in the construction of spawning and nursery areas for migratory fish in the coastal area, and a number of bottlenecks at pumping stations and locks are being resolved. This will allow fish to access larger polder areas.

Monitoring and knowledge sharing

This is done in collaboration with other authorities, nature conservation organizations, social groups, knowledge institutes, professional fishermen, and anglers. The parties involved and the business community are challenged to come up with cost-saving and innovative solutions. A monitoring program tracks the effectiveness of fish migration facilities, freshwater-saltwater transitions, and brackish water areas on an annual basis. The knowledge gained is shared both domestically and internationally. The Living Lab brings together knowledge and resources. 

Support from the Wadden Fund

With a contribution of nearly €12.8 million from the Wadden Fund, the Wetterskip Fryslân, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, Noorderzijlvest, and Hunze en Aa’s water boards and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences are working on the continuation of Ruim Baan voor Vissen (Make Way for Fish). The project makes a valuable contribution to the recovery of migratory fish populations in the Wadden Sea. By the end of 2025, a large part of the remaining bottlenecks in fish migration should have been resolved and knowledge gained from research should have been exchanged. This will restore the ecological balance for fish between the Wadden Sea and the hinterland.