The Fairbanks Nijhuis patented fish-friendly pump allows 100 percent of the eels and at least 97 percent of the fish to get through a pumping station unscathed. The fish friendly pump was developed in response to the adverse effects of conventional pumps in pumping stations on the fish stock. A substantial part of the fish mortality is caused when fish collide with the impeller blades and/or guide vanes when passing through conventional pumping stations. Furthermore conventional pumps greatly interfere with the innate migration of fish, and the eel population is especially threatened.

The impeller and guide vanes of the fish-friendly pump have a special design, that creates an optimal water flow, allowing the fish to pass through the pump safely. In addition, all edges are rounded and the space between the impeller blades is much wider, which substantially reduces the impact risk, with minor effects on the efficiency.

Fairbanks Nijhuis builds pumps according to customer’s specifications for the specific operation. Fish-friendliness is guaranteed while the efficiency is optimized. Our fish friendly pump provides a pump efficiency of more than 80 percent at the design point.

The fish friendly pump can be made customized to fit into an existing pumping station, and thus reduce or avoid structural adaptations.

In most cases the existing infrastructure remains unmodified when overhauling pumping stations. In addition, due to the optimized pump design most existing electrical systems can be used and don’t need to be extended. These facts substantially reduce the costs of converting your existing system into a fish-friendly system.

The lower speed of the pump positively affects maintenance requirements and service life: the pump is less vulnerable to clogging or damage to coating, bearings, etc.