A traveling band screen machine (1) is proposed with a careful fish return. To this end, the screen panels (4) each have a fish lifting channel (26) in which fishes (28) in a liquid-filled collecting recess (27) are lifted out of the stream of liquid and then emptied in the upper guidance zone (21) of the endless screen band (6) in an emptying zone (29) of the screen band machine (1) into a catch collecting drain (30) by tilting the screen panel (4) and the collecting recess (27) before the screen panel (4) reaches the cleaning zone (14) with the spray nozzles (23), in which debris deposited from the sluice channel on the screen panel (4) is cleaned off into the debris collecting drain (24).