American eel, 2021
Study Overview
Scientific partner:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Species:
American eel
Fish length:
339-655 mm (13-26 in)
RHT runner:
0.55 m (1.8 ft) diameter
Head:
10 m (33 ft)
Rotational speed:
667 rpm, 19.2 m/s
Turbine-passed fish:
131
Control fish:
43
Results:
100% immediate and 48h survival of turbine-passed fish
Publication:
https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10385
The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) passage testing we conducted with PNNL at our hydraulic test facility in Alameda, CA, in the fall of 2021, was designed to evaluate both the immediate and 48-hour survival rate of American eel passing through the RHT. We also looked at sublethal and behavioral effects of eel passage through the RHT operating under the most extreme conditions (maximum velocities, largest eel size relative to turbine).
We successfully captured high-speed video of 89% of passage events, which revealed an absence of pinching or laceration injury risk within the turbine. This work is summarized in a journal article published by the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society in August of 2022.
