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The RETERO project aims to reduce live fish experiments for the physical evaluation of injury and mortality risks during downstream passage through turbines, weirs or bypasses and to improve the predictions of numerical models. The focus of this presentation is on the design of a new “backpack sensor” for downstream passage studies which does not use invasive attachment methods. The fish backpack sensor provides a new source of data of the physical conditions experienced by live fish during HPP passage and can be compared to passive sensors and numerical models to develop behavioral rules. Results from field studies with live fish to estimate mortality and injury rates during downstream passage can differ widely from empirical models. One cause of this difference is that fish behavior influences the probability of injury or mortality. To evaluate this, passive sensors were compared to sensors on live fish. This data provides new insights into the differences in physical conditions experienced by a passive sensor and an actively swimming fish. First results from the lab and field on the effects of the sensors on the fish and the difference between passive and active sensor data show substantial differences between actively swimming fish and passive sensors.