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Vislift Up deployed at De Poel pumping station
The round Fish Lift Up at pumping station De Poel.

Fish Lift Up deployed at De Poel pumping station

Since the opening last June of pumping station De Poel in 's-Heer Abtskerke, more than 50,000 fish have already swum through the fish elevator. A unique feat, according to Rutger Schrijer of Vislift. "Never before have we counted so many fish at a fish passage in such a short period of time. Thanks to the camera and AI we can not only identify fish species, but also get a good picture of the water quality."

"We have two types of fish migration systems," Rutger explains. "One specifically for weirs and one from pumping stations. Fish naturally swim against the current, upstream. At a weir, the water the fish want to go to is higher. There you can lead the fish through the fish passage without the need for a pump. At a polder outlet pumping station, such as De Poel pumping station, the situation is different. The fish swim in the higher storage basin. If you want the fish to swim to the polder via a connection, they would swim with the current, since the water in the polder is lower. So that doesn't work. We used our Fish Lift Up which pumps water from the polder to the polder. This way you create a current in the polder. The fish then notice this bait current and swim against the current, down through a tube after which they end up in the lower polder." 

Fish recognition dePoel Giebels
The fish elevators are equipped with sensors so that fish migration can be monitored.

Restoration of nature

Characteristic of the Vislift Up system is its round shape, that it works according to the sluice principle and creates a continuous bait flow on the side of both gauge areas. "The Vislift Up is compact and therefore easy to fit in. That makes it particularly suitable for polder basin immigration," Rutger explains. "Our fish elevators are also equipped with sensors. These monitor not only fish migration but also water temperature, pollution and any blockages. In the places where the Fish Lift has been in use for some time, we see a recovery of nature. In the river Linge, for example, we have placed seven fishlifts. Thanks to the monitoring we now see fish species that did not occur here before including the barbel."

70 fish elevators

At pumping station De Poel, Vislift was already involved in the design process. "Together with Waterschap Scheldestromen and Van Boekel Bouw & Infra, we looked specifically at the situation and wishes. For example, the express wish was to use the existing ducts. The fishlift connects to these ducts." Throughout the Netherlands Vislift installs its systems, in total some 70 fish lift systems have already been installed. What is special about pumping station De Poel is that they have never before monitored so many fish, over 50,000, in less than 6 months. "Eels, carp, sticklebacks, roach, glass eels, we see everything passing by. This was really a location where fish migration was badly needed. The elvers in particular are interesting because this species is doing poorly." 

Artificial intelligence

AI (artificial intelligence) is also making an appearance in the world of fish migration. "We are now taking photos and videos of the fish. We want to start analyzing this footage with AI. Then we can collect even more specific data. After all, we are one of the few parties collecting underwater data. This gives us a good picture of what is happening underwater in the Netherlands. This data is important to monitor water quality even better and to get a picture of what kind of solutions you can best invest in to monitor fish stocks in general, but also specifically target a species like the elver."     

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