Thesis Work - Site-Specific Tube Fishway for Juvenile Eel Migration

As part of Sweden’s ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of hydropower and improve river connectivity, Vattenfall is developing and investigating measures to restore river connectivity for migratory fish species, including the critically endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla). During their upstream migration, juvenile eels (elvers) frequently encounter barriers such as dams and hydropower plants. Trap-and-transport methods can help them bypass these obstacles by capturing elvers downstream and relocating them to suitable upstream habitats, but the approach is labour-intensive and can cause stress due to repeated handling.
As part of the thesis, you will:

Support the scanning and assessment of the installation area and the existing floating elver collector.
Design a site-specific transfer chamber, attachment system, and pipe routing solution.
Adapt the existing laboratory-scale tube fishway into a site-representative configuration.
Develop and implement valve control strategies for automated operation.
Conduct hydraulic and operational testing of the system.
Evaluate the design and provide recommendations for future field deployment and improvements.