Malnutrition affects up to 20% of people globally and for many, fish are an essential source of critical dietary nutrients. This is especially true in the global tropics where free flowing rivers and migratory fish continue to be productive and accessible to millions of people. Nutritious river fisheries are threatened by river regulation which prevents migratory fish completing their life histories and makes fish less accessible to people throughout the catchment. Fish passage technology can remediate habitat fragmentation caused by river regulation but has until now largely focused on ecological and technical considerations, rather than societal benefits of remediating fish migration routes. Our study aimed to demonstrate that human nutrition can inform fish passage planning and evaluation where supporting human nutrition security is an objective of improved connectivity. We reviewed human spatial data available for integration with pragmatic fish passage prioritisation frameworks. As case-studies, we quantified the nutritional output of two fishway sites (one in Cambodia and one in Lao People’s Democratic Republic) where inland fisheries underpin human nutrition security. We discuss a nutrient-flow accounting model to report on nutrient servings provided by fish passing through these fishways which can inform future fishway prioritisation and investment. By linking fish passage performance to nutrient delivery, we provide a framework for recognising connectivity restoration as an investment in both ecosystem function and human nutrition, strengthening its contribution to global development priorities.