Method, system and apparatus for asymmetric flow guidance of fish

1 . A system for guiding fish through a body of water selected from the group consisting of a river and a stream, said body of water further comprising, a dam and a bypass, the system comprising:

said river or stream having a water flow; and

at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and a second hydrofoil apparatus located in said body of water at a distance from said dam and for guiding fish through the body of water and approaching said dam from a distance, guiding the fish in a direction away from the dam and guiding the fish in a direction toward and/or into the bypass,

wherein the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus are oriented in the body of water to produce an asymmetric flow field comprising a fast, low turbulent flow on one side of the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus and a slow, high turbulent flow on the other side of the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus, wherein fish in the body of water react to the asymmetric flow field and are guided to swim toward the fast, low turbulent flow,

wherein the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus have a convex curvature on both sides of the apparatus, in a transverse cross section.

2 . The system of claim 1 , comprising an arrangement wherein said at least first hydrofoil apparatus a second hydrofoil apparatus are in series, the first hydrofoil apparatus positioned in the body of water to produce a first asymmetric flow field and the at least second hydrofoil apparatus positioned in the body of water to produce a second asymmetric flow field, wherein the first asymmetric flow field guides fish into a first swim trajectory and the second asymmetric flow field guides fish into a second swim trajectory, thereby guiding the fish sequentially from said first swim trajectory to said second swim trajectory across the width of the body of water.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the fish are guided in a direction away from the dam.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the fish are guided in a direction toward and/or in to the dam bypass.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least first and second hydrofoil apparatus are each selected from the group consisting of a symmetric shape in a transverse cross section and an asymmetric shape in a transverse cross section.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least first and second hydrofoil apparatus are each oriented in the body of water at an angle selected from the group consisting of an acute angle to the direction of the water flow, an angle in a range of about 10° to 30° to the water flow and an angle in a range of about 0° to 5° to the water flow.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and the at least a second hydrofoil apparatus are anchored to the bottom of the body of water to maintain their orientation.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and the at least a second hydrofoil apparatus has a shape, in a transverse cross section, wherein a center line from a first tangent point at a front tip of the hydrofoil apparatus to a second tangent point at a back tip of the hydrofoil apparatus is a straight line.

9 . A system for guiding at least a first type of fish and a second type of fish, said at least first and second type of fish being different, through a body of water selected from the group consisting of a river and a stream, said body of water further comprising a dam and a bypass, the system comprising:

said river or stream having a water flow; and

at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and a second hydrofoil apparatus located in said body of water at a distance from said dam and for guiding said at least a first and a second type of fish through the body of water and approaching said dam from a distance,

wherein the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus are oriented in the body of water to produce a first asymmetric flow field comprising a fast, low turbulent flow on one side of the first hydrofoil apparatus and a slow, high turbulent flow on the other side of the first hydrofoil apparatus and a second asymmetric flow field comprising a fast, low turbulent flow on one side of the second hydrofoil apparatus and a slow, high turbulent flow on the other side of the second hydrofoil apparatus, said first asymmetric flow field being different from said second asymmetric flow field, wherein the first asymmetric flow field guides said first type of fish and the second asymmetric flow field guides-said second different type of fish, and separating and guiding said at least first and second types of fish,

wherein the first hydrofoil apparatus and the second hydrofoil apparatus have a convex curvature on both sides of the apparatus, in a transverse cross section.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the first type of fish is guided in a direction away from the dam.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the second type of fish is guided in a direction away from the dam.

12 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the first type of fish is guided in a direction toward and/or in to the dam bypass.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the second type of fish is guided in a direction toward and/or in to the dam bypass.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least first and second hydrofoil apparatus are each selected from the group consisting of a symmetric shape in a transverse cross section and an asymmetric shape in a transverse cross section.

15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least first and second hydrofoil apparatus are each oriented in the body of water at an angle selected from the group consisting of an acute angle to the direction of the water flow, an angle in a range of about 10° to 30° to the water flow and an angle in a range of about 0° to 5° to the water flow.

16 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and the at least a second hydrofoil apparatus are anchored to the bottom of the body of water to maintain their orientation.

17 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each of the at least a first hydrofoil apparatus and the at least a second hydrofoil apparatus has a shape, in a transverse cross section, wherein a center line from a first tangent point at a front tip of the hydrofoil apparatus to a second tangent point at a back tip of the hydrofoil apparatus is a straight line.