Salmon cannon shoot fish over hydroelectric dams

When salmon are ready to spawn, they make a fantastically long journey back to their birthplace in order to reproduce on gravel beds. 

Typically speaking, this trip involves swimming from the open sea back upstream into rivers. It’s how nature intended, but an unfortunate consequence resulting from the advancements of technology, specifically hydroelectric dams, get in the way of this process.

One way man tries to help the salmon overcome these obstacles is by setting up pools that the fish jump through, step by step almost like a ladder, until they’ve reached the other side. A smart solution, but not a complete one, as nowadays there are plenty of dams that are simply too high for the fish to overcome. 

A solution for this particular obstacle is to move the fish via truck or helicopter. It’s an effective measure, but a costly one for local state departments to have to take on. It’s also traumatizing for the fish to be captured and transported via vehicle.

This is where Whooshh Innovations comes in (“Whoosh” was already taken). The company learned of this salmon dilemma and decided to take a look at their existing technology, which is used to transport delicate produce without damage vis-à-vis vacuum pressure. 

They thought that by tweaking the system slightly, they could get it to the point where they’d be able to transport fish up and over these dams safely and efficiently. 

The first test used a tilapia, which was loaded into the adjusted fruit tube and fired off.

Sure enough, the fish went flying and landed without damage. 

Five years of further updates and adjustments followed thereafter, and the folks at Whooshh now have a system in which the fish can actually load themselves into the cannon on their own. Vacuum pressure then gives the fish a boost of speed around 15 to 22 mph along a track that is misted in order to keep them wet and comfortable while traveling through the tube until they reach the end and are officially airborne. 

Next month the Department of Energy will come in to oversee a test of Whooshh’s Salmon Cannon. Once fish appear to start spawning, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will monitor how the fish respond to being shot through a 150-foot track over a 20-foot embankment. Should all go well, we can expect to see the Salmon Cannon officially put to use afterwards.

Watch the salmon cannon in action via the video below:

Story via iflscience.com