Conservation groups condemn court ruling on fish passage

Yle reports that the Vaasa Administrative Court has ordered hydropower companies Kemijoki Oy and PVO-Vesivoima to plan how fish migration can be arranged at their power plants on the Kemijoki and Iijoki rivers. The court also overturned extensive obligations to stock additional fish fry, drawing criticism from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and WWF Finland.

The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation says the ruling favors hydropower companies at the expense of migratory fish. The organisation plans to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, arguing that the decision on fisheries obligations at the dams does not meet legal requirements.

WWF Finland says the minimum requirements set for fish passages are inadequate. Its leading fisheries expert, Matti Ovaska, said the passages could be so small that migratory salmonids following flowing water to their spawning grounds would struggle to find a way around the dams. WWF also argues that large stocking obligations conflict with the goal of protecting fish’s natural life cycles.

The Lapland vitality centre, the fisheries authority for the region, says the court decisions indicate that conditions on both rivers have changed and that restoring at least part of the natural life cycle may be possible. But it warns that some fisheries obligations will be left to be considered in permit applications for individual power plants, which it says could be problematic for the public interest in fisheries.

Kemijoki Oy says it is reviewing the court’s reasoning and assessing the decision’s overall effects before considering next steps. The company’s chief executive, Tuomas Timonen, said the ruling provides direction for its long-term work on migratory fish. PVO-Vesivoima says it will also consider its next steps. Its chief executive, Jani Pulli, said hydropower production and the restoration of migratory fish can be reconciled.