The Houting ("Snæbel" in Danish) was once common in the North Sea but is now an endangered species. In an effort to save the Houting from extinction, the Danish Forest and Nature Agency has initiated a project to restore and conserve the Houting's few remaining spawning grounds, with financial support from EU Life.
A part of the project involves restoration of the river Vidå in Southern Jutland, removing weirs and other obstacles to the Houting and breaking down dikes to create flooded areas. Using the Agent-Based Model feature in DHI Software's EcoLab, a hydrodynamic model can be linked dynamically with a behavioural model for individual fish larvae. In this way DHI were able to investigate how different hydrodynamic scenarios and restoration schemes might affect the likelihood of larvae remaining in the upper reaches of the stream, where they can grow to maturity. Based on the model results the most favourable scheme was selected by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency. The restoration and dredging works are expected to commence next summer.