Fisheries mitigation Xayaburi Dam, Lao PDR

The world’s most productive inland fishery — the Lower Mekong Basin fishery — is currently under threat from the proposed development of eleven dams on the main stem of the Mekong River.

The challenge

Evidence from dam developments elsewhere throughout the world suggests that the Mekong dams will block many migratory fish species from accessing crucial feeding, spawning and nursery habitat, and thereby prevent them from completing their life cycles.

The first mainstem Mekong River dam was recently commissioned in October 2019 at Xayaburi, in Lao PDR.

There are many benefits of dam construction; namely creating jobs, supplying and exporting electricity and reducing poverty.

However, there are concerns about the impacts on the livelihoods of people currently dependent on the river, and the difficulties of mitigating those impacts.

Project name:
Assessing fisheries mitigation measures at Xayaburi Dam in Lao PDR (2019-2024)

Funding ACIAR $1.92M

Our response

A record level of investment has been put towards mitigating the impact of the Xayaburi Dam on fish passage, with the goal of setting the best-practice standard for future mainstem dam developments.

The effectiveness of the Xayaburi fishway remains untested, and a strategic research program is working to address this issue. Charles Sturt University has partnered with KarlTek Pty Ltd, Xayaburi Power Company, National University of Lao, Living Aquatic Resources Research Centre and Fish Matters IP, to develop optimal techniques for assessing the performance of mainstem dam fishways in the Lower Mekong Basin.

The research team have been applying these techniques to evaluate fish passage at the site.

The goal

Develop a suite of robust techniques to assess the performance of mainstem dam fishways in the Mekong catchment.
Assess upstream fish passage within the Xayaburi Dam fish pass facilities.
Provide a standard for monitoring and constructing other mainstem dam fishways in the Mekong catchment.
Enable enhanced operations at Xayaburi to ensure fish passage is fully integrated into day-to-day dam operations.
Improve the design of other fish passes at future mainstem dams.

In the media

Helping fish to migrate and breed in the Lower Mekong Basin

Waterpartnership.org

19 Oct 2022

Our team

Principal scientist

Professor Lee Baumgartner

lbaumgartner@csu.edu.au View full profile

Our research team

Jarrod McPherson

Research Officer

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Dr Nathan Ning

Aquatic Ecologist

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Dr Wayne Robinson

Senior Ecologist

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Dr Chris Barlow

(Fish Matters IP), Senior Fisheries Ecologist

Dr Ann Fleming

(ACIAR), Fisheries Research Program Manager

Khampheng Homsombath

(LARReC), Senior Fisheries Ecologist

Karl Pomorin

Expert in Passive Integrated Tag (PIT) monitoring systems

Thanasak Poomchaivej

(XPCL), Manager of the Environmental Monitoring department

Douangkham Singhanouvong

(LARReC)

Garry Thorncraft

(NUoL)

Michael Raeder

Owner representative for XPCL

Douangkham Singhanouvong

(Consultant), former Deputy Director of LARReC

Garry Thorncraft

(NUoL), Senior Fisheries Ecologist and Fishway Expert

Key research publications

2022

Baumgartner, L. J., Boys, C., Marsden, T., McPherson, J., Ning, N., Phonekhampeng, O., Robinson, W., Singhanouvong, D., Stuart, I., & Thorncraft, G. (2022). A comparison of the effectiveness of three fishway designs for use in a large tropical river system. Abstract from Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.
Baumgartner, L. J., Pomorin, K., Poomchaivej, T., Robinson, W., Raeder, M., & Ning, N. (2022). Installing fish detection systems within the Xayaburi Run of River Power Plant. Paper presented at Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. http://asfb-2022.p.asnevents.com.au/days/2022-11-09/abstract/84223
Poomchaivej, T. (2022). Developing quality assurance practices for PIT tagging in the Mekong River. Paper presented at Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.
Raeder, M. and Poomchaivej, T. Fishpass design of the Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Plant, Laos. Paper presented at Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.

2018

Poomchaivej, T. and Supachokepanich, J. (2018). Modification of navigation locks for upstream fish migration. Paper presented at Fish Passage 2018, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.