Russian Federal
Research Institute Of Fisheries
and Oceanography
30 September 2025

Development of new designs of fish protection devices and structures

A research team comprised of specialists from the central institute and branches of the Russian State Research Center of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) developed designs for new fish protection structures (FPS), which were reviewed at a meeting of the Academic Council held on September 17 of this year and approved for patent registration.
 
The designs for three types of fish protection structures were presented:
 
  • an umbrella-shaped head with a hydraulic washer;
  • a comprehensive fish protection structure consisting of a louvered drum with a pneumatic curtain and an impermeable screen;
  • a fish protection structure with filter cartridges, a washing device, and a hydraulic washer.
 
The developers' designs for the new FPS take into account current legislative requirements for fish protection structures (devices). Furthermore, the inventions offered a number of advantages over existing fish protection options, such as the ability to use a modular approach, expanding the scope of application of fish protection devices to water intakes with a wide range of capacities, adapting the designs to water bodies with different hydrological regimes, and effectively protecting juvenile fish.
 
After reviewing the RZS invention projects, the VNIRO Academic Council noted that the technical solutions, combined with scientific approaches, were innovative, new, and industrially applicable.
 
The implementation of the new inventions will increase the effectiveness of fish protection to 80–90%, which will significantly reduce fish mortality during economic activities involving the extraction of water resources.
 
VNIRO Press Service