Invention:
This technology is an electrofishing device designed for the removal of invasive fish species from streams and rivers. The device can emit a specific amount of current to create an electric field in the body of water which causes involuntary muscle spasms in nearby fish, drawing the fish towards the device. This technique was demonstrated to be capable of gathering 90% of the fish in the device’s vicinity. Once the fish are gathered, they can be sorted through to find and remove any invasive fish species. This technology provides a simple, low-cost, effective method for reducing invasive fish populations from streams and rivers, protecting native fauna and preserving ecosystems.
Background:
Through competition and predation, invasive fish species threaten native fish populations and can significantly damage waterway ecosystems. To protect native flora and fauna and preserve the health and biodiversity of stream and river ecosystems, it’s important to minimize invasive fish populations. However, current removal methods are primarily biological and chemical, and many are time-consuming, ineffective, and damaging to the ecosystems they aim to protect. Mechanical methods of fish removal such as fishing and trapping are less controversial, but they are difficult to scale and aren’t cost effective. Electrofishing, a technique for herding and gathering fish using an electric current, is currently used on a small scale to classify and study fish populations. This technology takes electrofishing techniques and adapts them to accomplish the large-scale removal of nonnative fish.
Applications:
Advantages:
- Effective
- Scalable
- Easy to implement
- Low cost
- Safe
