Fish Ladder Opens for Spawning Salmon at Nizhne-Tuloma HPP

June 1, 2012: at the Nizhne-Tulomskaya HPP there a fish ladder was opened. This is a unique hydraulic and ecological construction in the Murmansk region. The event was attended by representatives of the Barents Sea Branch of the Wildlife Fund (WWF) and FSI Murmanrybvod.

A fish ladder is an artificial stream with rapids, in which the fish around the dam rise to the upper reaches of the Tuloma river to spawn. The fish maze simulates a mountain's river rapids with rocky climbs alternating with pools. It consists of sixty four wells about one kilometer long. The natural structure of the fish ladder repeats the natural habitat of salmon, and therefore allows you to keep a key population of the Murmansk region's commercial fish species.

The fish ladder was built in 1936 and became the first such structure in the country. According to Alexander Likhachev, a foreman at the Nizhne-Tulomskaya HPP, "this year in anticipation of the opening of the fish ladder in a short time we have carried out a range of activities to remove defects in the concrete structures. Due to the large flows of water, cracks, holes, and erosions all have to be renovated. This permits, first, reliable operation of the facilities, and secondly, to create a most comfortable passage for spawning salmon."

The fish ladder has been remarked by specialists in conservation to be one of the best in the world and unrivaled in its simplicity and convenience for the fish. The ladder is a unique example of nature conservation in the construction of an industrial facility.