Resolution
on minimising the impact of hydropower plants on fisheries

Original Text

The European Anglers Alliance, which represents 18 European nations and more than 6 million anglers, held their 8^th General Assembly on 5^th – 8^th April 2002 in Prague, and discussed the impact of hydropower on fisheries.

Hydropower plants have a number of negative effects on the environment, especially on fish. Downstream migration fish can be killed directly on impact with turbine- of runner-blades and by high pressure differences or shear forces within the turbine. Later many fish die of wounds, broken backbones or internal bleeding.

The General Assembly of the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) urges its members, their national governments and the European Union to take all necessary steps and measures to minimise the impact of hydropower on fisheries:

1. by setting up uniform standards for the construction of hydropowerplants;
1. to not allow the construction of hydropowerplants in rivers that have runs of migratory fish (or in rivers that have the potential of some kind of restoration of those runs)
2. to set uniform standards regarding the efficiency of fish passage (guidance) systems
3. to take into account the effects of any new power plant on the watershed as a whole;
2. by urging their respective governments to stop all government subsidies on the construction of new hydropower plants;
3. by enforcing the construction of effective fish passage systems, for both upstream and downstream migrating fish, around existing hydropower plants in rivers that have runs of migratory fish (or in rivers that have the potential to restore those runs).

This should be done by relicensing procedures.

If the construction of those fish passage systems is not cost-effective in relation to the output of the existing power plant, such a power plant should not be relicensened. The power plant should be shut and the dam (if possible) breached;

4. by asking the European Union and representatives of the respective countries in the European Parliament to implement the same measures as mentioned under article 1, 2 and 3 of this resolution on a European scale in European law, especially for international watersheds;
5. by installing international commissions representing national angling organisations to make an inventory of the problems caused by hydropower plants in international river systems. These commissions should be watershed-oriented, e.g. separate commissions for the Rhine, Meuse, Elbe or Danube rivers, preferably under the umbrella of EAA.