Fish passes problems in hydroelectric power plants: Case study Gümüşhane and Bayburt

With the increasing population and developing technology in the world, the need for energy is also increasing. Countries generally meet this energy need from renewable energy sources. Today, many dams, regulators, dams and structures such as hydroelectric power plants are established in order to meet the increasing demands on aquatic systems. Due to its geographical structure, these structures are frequently encountered in our country. These structures negatively affect fish migrations, especially upstream and downstream, and pose a danger to many living things. It is necessary to build hydraulic structures on or around natural barriers on aquatic systems or man-made barriers such as regulators, dams, hydroelectric power plants, weirs to assist the natural movement of diadromes (migratory) upstream-downstream and / or downstream-upstream. The most important of these hydraulic structures are fish passages. The most used fish pass is the pool pass type. There are two main considerations in the design of fish passes. The first is that the fish targeted to pass can find the entrance of the fish pass, and the second is that the fish can successfully complete their swimming through the pass and reach the other side of the barrier. With the Article 22 of the Fisheries Law No. 1380, it has been made obligatory to build a fish pass for the passage of fishery products and keep them in working condition in water structures such as dams and regulators established or to be established on rivers. In determining the water structures where fish passes will be made due to the geographical situation of our country, the specific morphological characteristics of each basin and the diversity of ecosystems, turbines, etc. compatible with the transitions that should be evaluated as a whole, as well as the fish pass types. It should be noted that the choice of mechanical equipment is also important. In the study conducted specifically for Gümüşhane and Bayburt provinces, the benefits / harms of these parameters in practice were also examined. In this study, in which social awareness about fish passes is questioned with the results of the surveys made after the literature review, data collection from the relevant institutions and field studies (observations made in the field, measurements and determinations made by the plant managers and / or on-site), the hydraulic structures called fish passages It is aimed to provide information about the operation and maintenance phases, to examine the previous studies on this subject, to emphasize the importance of fish passes, to observe these existing structures in Gümüşhane and Bayburt provinces and to offer solutions to the problems encountered in the enterprise. For this reason, basic fish pass problems such as whether there are fish passes in hydroelectric power plants, whether the existing fish passes are adequately maintained, whether the fish passes are used by fish, or whether the passage is suitable for the fish species have been discussed and examined. As a result of the study, it is emphasized that there is a positive increase in the number of fish migrating and moving through these passages and sustainable ecosystem integrity in cases such as making a suitable type of passage for water structures that do not have fish passes, repairing and improving existing fish passes that are not working or partially working, and cleaning them especially after floods.