Hydropower companies required to design fish passages for Kemijoki power plants in Finland

Hydropower companies are required to investigate and design fish passages for the Kemijoki power plants. According to the decision made by the Northern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency, the owners of the power plants must explore and outline structures that will allow salmon and sea trout to reach their spawning areas in the Taivalkoski, Ossauskoski, Petäjäskoski, and Valajaskoski power plants, and if necessary, at the Isohaara power plant as well.

The companies must also plan structures to facilitate the downstream migration of smolts and spawning fish into the sea. The Kemijoki River is Finland’s longest river and plays a crucial role in electricity production. However, following the construction of dams post-World War II, migratory fish such as salmon disappeared from the river. To address this, hydropower companies were mandated over 40 years ago to implement fishery obligations to ensure the passage of fish in the Kemijoki.

This measure has not been effective, prompting the Lapland Ely Centre in 2017 to demand amendments to these obligations in order to restore the natural spawning of salmon and trout. The proposed changes include the construction of fish passages at multiple power plant locations and fish transfer stocking. According to Ely Centre’s proposal, fish passages should be built at the Isohaara, Taivalkoski, Ossauskoski, Petäjäskoski, and Valajaskoski plants, while similar structures should also be developed upstream in the Kemijoki over the next 12 years at the Vanttauskoski, Pirttikoski, Seitakorva, and Raudanjoen Permantokoski power plants.

The processing of this requirement took over seven years, during which the Regional State Administrative Agency received criticism for the delay. The hydropower companies have opposed the changes to the fishery obligations. The power plants on the lower Kemijoki are owned by two companies, Kemijoki Oy and Pohjolan Voima, with four of the plants being owned by Kemijoki Oy, in which the Finnish government is the largest shareholder. The recent decision by the regional authority can be appealed.