News Release:
Wall of Sound Built To Deter Invasive Species
The Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF), As Its Called, Was Created To Slow The Passage of Asian Carp Throughout The Mississippi River Basin By Releasing A Curtain of Bubbles And A Powerful Sound Signal.
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Outdoor Daily News' website.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Researchers will experiment with a riverbed bubbler and sound system as part of the ongoing effort to slow the spread of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi River basin. This invasive species has gotten out of hand in terms of reproducing and has even cause motorist accidents due to the amount of clutter they cause. European technology originally designed to steer migrating salmon back into main river channels will be tested below Barkley Dam in western Kentucky as an envir-onmentally friendly way to block passage of Asian carp upstream. The Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) creates a curtain of bubbles, and in conjunction with a powerful sound signal, produces an underwater “wall of sound” designed to deter the passage of fish. Fish Guidance Systems, LTD, a company based in the United Kingdom, invented the device to herd migrating fish around water intakes and dams in Europe. The company describes the fence as a behavioral barrier that requires less maintenance than a physical barrier, such as a screen or an electrical barrier.
A multi-agency research group chose this company’s technology for the Barkley Dam test. The Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Minnesota, Fish Guidance Systems and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources are combining funding, technology and staff to construct a research plan that should put an acoustic bubbler system below the dam in fall 2018. The invasive Asian carp are a major concern throughout the Mississippi River basin, including the Tennessee River, which forms Kentucky Lake, and the Cumberland River, which forms Lake Barkley. These are two of the largest reservoirs in Kentucky. Bio-acoustic fish fences below lock chambers in the Mississippi River basin are untested as an Asian carp deterrent. This requires research to assess the technology’s efficiency at reducing fish movement beyond the barriers. While this technology does not require construction of physical barriers such as fences, challenges remain.
For the full press release go to Outdoor Daily News.