Restoring the populations of amphihaline migratory fish in the Vienne basin
Study of the feasibility and the opportuneness of this restoration
Scientific progress has demonstrated that structures (sills, sluice gates, mills, etc.) lead to compartmentalisation in water courses and the loss of their ecological functions. Since the 18th century, those continuity problems have brought about the disappearance of the amphihaline migratory fish that were formerly abundant in the Vienne basin. So the levelling of the Maisons Rouges dam in 1998 and the installation of fish passages in the Châtellerault dam and on the sills at Bonneuil-Matours and Gouex-Villards at the beginning of this century were the practical demonstration of the desire to restore fish migration in the Vienne basin.
Since 2008, a working party has been endeavouring to help the migratory fish species re-conquer the Vienne: data collection, studies of adaptation of the obstacles …. The current mission is aimed at assessing the technical and socio-economic possibilities and opportunities for the restoration of the populations of amphihaline migratory fish in the Vienne basin. It is therefore focused on assessing the expected biological gain by species, the technical and financial opportunities, the economic spin-offs, the impact on image and the environmental benefits.
