Salmon Cannon(TM) Sets New Distance Record for Moving Fish

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Jun 22, 2016) -

WHAT:
YOUR CHANCE TO WATCH LIVE FISH "GLIDE & SLIDE" 1,100 ft. THROUGH THE WHOOSHH FISH TRANSPORT SYSTEM (SALMON CANNON)

WHO:
The Yakama Nation (Toppenish, Washington) and Whooshh Innovations -- The Best Way to Move Fish™ (Seattle, Washington)

WHERE: 
Roza Diversion Dam Fish Handling and Fish Passage Facility on the Yakima River, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Site (Maps provided to media planning to attend)

WHEN: 
Thursday, June 23, 2016
9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

WHY:
As climate change continues to affect river systems, making the management of water a priority, and as warm waters cause stress and contribute to the death of migratory fish in such unfavorable conditions, a better, less expensive way to transport fish through waterways and past barriers is needed.

For the past several years, Yakama Nation fisheries scientists, working at the Roza Diversion Dam outside of Yakima, Washington, have studied the effects of moving fish using the Whooshh Fish Transport System (WFTS). Previous studies have demonstrated that moving fish via WFTS versus traditional trap and haul showed no measurable differences in fish survival and well-being between both transport methods.

This year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a contract to Whooshh for a feasibility/viability study to evaluate the efficacy of employing the WFTS to safely transport live fish over a distance and elevation that models the currently impassable Cle Elum Dam, which is 165 ft. high and 1100 feet from the tailrace to the crest. Having already transported half the allotted number of fish for the study, the WFTS has proven itself to be a huge success -- with fish passing through the tube and emerging healthy and active on the distal end in less than a minute.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY and PHOTO OP:
Watch as fisheries scientists from the Yakama Nations' fisheries send Chinook salmon through the 1,100 ft.-long Whooshh tube. Meet representatives from Whooshh Innovations, the Yakama Nation, and USBR to discuss the long-term ramifications of this system on fish passage.