2024-10-24 Selective Fishing - Student Training - Research Program Update
In September 2024, the Fort St. James/Steward Lake selective fishing project hit some new milestones. We were able to;
1) Complete the structural upgrades to the platform
2) Train two groups of students and teachers in the basics of operating the platform.
3) Assemble and calibrate the state of the art YSI water quality probe and conduct preliminary water quality tests.
4) Assemble, mount and test the Davis Pro Climate monitoring system and establish a 1,500 ft (450 m) data transmission ship to shore distance.
5) Provide parts for assembly of the KIST hyporheic ground water sampler that will allow water quality measurements from 1.0 m below the sediment surface, up through the lake water column to the surface.
6) The permit applications for the 2025 season are underway.
If you wish to see a recent news media clip please copy and paste:
https://ckpgtoday.ca/2024/10/09/fort-st-james-students-take-to-the-water-in-a-unique-environmental-science-course/
These activities will allow us to conduct more comprehensive training programs and water/climate testing and co-relation and if the permits allow, capture of adult and juvenile salmonids in the RiverTraps system during the 2025 open water season.
In September 2024, the Fort St. James/Steward Lake selective fishing project hit some new milestones. We were able to;
1) Complete the structural upgrades to the platform
2) Train two groups of students and teachers in the basics of operating the platform.
3) Assemble and calibrate the state of the art YSI water quality probe and conduct preliminary water quality tests.
4) Assemble, mount and test the Davis Pro Climate monitoring system and establish a 1,500 ft (450 m) data transmission ship to shore distance.
5) Provide parts for assembly of the KIST hyporheic ground water sampler that will allow water quality measurements from 1.0 m below the sediment surface, up through the lake water column to the surface.
6) The permit applications for the 2025 season are underway.
If you wish to see a recent news media clip please copy and paste:
https://ckpgtoday.ca/2024/10/09/fort-st-james-students-take-to-the-water-in-a-unique-environmental-science-course/
These activities will allow us to conduct more comprehensive training programs and water/climate testing and co-relation and if the permits allow, capture of adult and juvenile salmonids in the RiverTraps system during the 2025 open water season.
2024-07-08 Research Program Update:
The RiverTraps system currently has 4 Patent Pending designs of 11.5 ft, 13.5 ft (single enders which can capture fish in one direction of migration) and 16 ft and 81 ft (double enders which can capture fish in both upstream and downstream migration) which are all 10 ft wide.
Latest Test Results: In spring 2024 the 11.5 ft RiverTraps 2023RT-1110 unit was tested on sloughs tributary to the Harrison River. A new containment net with 1/4 inch mesh was fabricated and installed so that it could capture out-migrating salmon fry and smolts. Hundreds of out-migrating fry and smolts (more than was required for the test) were captured, assessed and released unharmed to continue their trek to tide water.
In late June 2024, the 18 ft 2023RTX1810-4000 unit was outfitted with the latest engine bracket design. The new engine bracket allows raising and lowering the entire engine unit using a simple proprietary mechanical system to adjust engine performance according to the load on the platform. The new bracket also allowed for correct tilt adjustment of the engine. This allowed stability and load testing and the system performed exactly as calculated for a maximum safe operating payload of 4,000 lbs. (1,820 kg). The load was then upgraded to an emergency operating payload of 6,000 lbs (2,727 kg) to demonstrate that the engine bracket uplift system could raise the engine and still provide operating power.
The new engine bracket Pod was installed which allowed the platform to plane at full throttle operating speeds and maneuvers in forward and reverse eliminating the central wake and cavitation issues. (see test photos)
Next the 2023 RTX1810-4000 will be outfitted with a top of the line YSI multimeter water quality monitoring probe, a Pro-Climate monitoring system with 1,000 ft (300m) data transmission radius to a data recording and display tablet. and a KIST water column and hyporheic groundwater probe. Activities are underway to secure and install an Aris Ultrasound for fish stock assessment. These enhancements will allow for real time collection and co-relation of climate, water quality, upwelling ground water quality and fish migration data
The RiverTraps system currently has 4 Patent Pending designs of 11.5 ft, 13.5 ft (single enders which can capture fish in one direction of migration) and 16 ft and 81 ft (double enders which can capture fish in both upstream and downstream migration) which are all 10 ft wide.
Latest Test Results: In spring 2024 the 11.5 ft RiverTraps 2023RT-1110 unit was tested on sloughs tributary to the Harrison River. A new containment net with 1/4 inch mesh was fabricated and installed so that it could capture out-migrating salmon fry and smolts. Hundreds of out-migrating fry and smolts (more than was required for the test) were captured, assessed and released unharmed to continue their trek to tide water.
In late June 2024, the 18 ft 2023RTX1810-4000 unit was outfitted with the latest engine bracket design. The new engine bracket allows raising and lowering the entire engine unit using a simple proprietary mechanical system to adjust engine performance according to the load on the platform. The new bracket also allowed for correct tilt adjustment of the engine. This allowed stability and load testing and the system performed exactly as calculated for a maximum safe operating payload of 4,000 lbs. (1,820 kg). The load was then upgraded to an emergency operating payload of 6,000 lbs (2,727 kg) to demonstrate that the engine bracket uplift system could raise the engine and still provide operating power.
The new engine bracket Pod was installed which allowed the platform to plane at full throttle operating speeds and maneuvers in forward and reverse eliminating the central wake and cavitation issues. (see test photos)
Next the 2023 RTX1810-4000 will be outfitted with a top of the line YSI multimeter water quality monitoring probe, a Pro-Climate monitoring system with 1,000 ft (300m) data transmission radius to a data recording and display tablet. and a KIST water column and hyporheic groundwater probe. Activities are underway to secure and install an Aris Ultrasound for fish stock assessment. These enhancements will allow for real time collection and co-relation of climate, water quality, upwelling ground water quality and fish migration data
Selective Fishing has a new option to help in the stabilization and recovery of endangered fish stocks and convert to oil spill and Search and Rescue response support and recovery.
The RiverTrap can be designed to be deployed in both shallow near shore or deeper water as a stationary selective fishing technology or drift fished. The wing net system can be installed quickly in depths of 1.0 to 4 meters and configured in any format and easily removed when fishing is over. The wing nets guide the fish into the containment net underneath the RiverTrap platform. The dimensions of the nets and platform are entirely scalable to suit the river/stream conditions and budget.
The RiverTrap can be used for selective fish harvesting and release of endangered stocks or for brood stock capture. The figure below illustrates that the wing nets can be designed to cover a small portion or large portion of the water body to guide fish into the containment net under the floating platform.. The basic RiverTrap platform consists of floatation and deck with at least one connector bracket to join the wing nets to the containment net. The removable containment net is suspended on a special frame underneath the floating platform.
The deck has at least one access port to extract harvestable fish and at least one release gate to allow the escapement of endangered fish without physically handling them or exposing them to air. The smallest size platform will be 12 ft long x 8.5 ft wide and will have a selection of floatation options. Larger platforms can have two connector systems and two access ports with release gates to be able to function in situations where the platform can be reversed, such as in drift fishing or deep water seining. The RiverTrap platform can be scaled to lengths of up to 25 ->30ft in length and 8.5->12 ft width. Platform options include steering consoles, single or dual engines, scientific equipment, solar and hydro-electric power generation capabilities. The platforms can therefore be used for selective fish harvesting plus stock assessment and brood stock capture plus scientific studies of fish abundance and fish health.
Photo above. Test deployment in the Harrison River. The basic setup is deployed in 45 minutes and takedown completed in 30 minutes.
Photo above. ARIS ultrasound scan detects sockeye salmon swimming up to 40 meters (120 feet) on either side of the RiverTraps selective fishing platform in a pilot test on 2022-09-29. All the test equipment can now be housed in the water resistant "Science Cabinet"
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RiverTrap™ Beginning in 2019 and after two years of research and one year of construction, Genesis Environmental Sciences Ltd. has developed a patent pending prototype concept design for selective fishing. 2022 involved structural and operational tests. 2023 will focus on the selective capture of vibrant stocks of salmon while releasing at risk stocks unharmed. This would result in high quality salmon which do not have net marks and would fetch a higher market price while being Orca, Steelhead and Sturgeon friendly and benefitting fishing economies.
The patent pending design allows conversion to multiple selective fishing situations and/or brood stock capture or re-capture of fish escaped from fish farms. The platform can be configured for scientific studies related to fish health and abundance and stock assessment. The stable shallow draft aluminum based platform can be used directly for water quality, climate and hyporheic groundwater sampling and quickly converted for rapid deployment for emergency search and rescue and flood response and for enhanced oil spill support/response. It has potential application in passive solar and hydro-electricity generation. The RiverTrap design is a rare combination of efficient functional systems suitable for multiple environmentally beneficial purposes.. After the conceptual engineering designs were completed, Genesis Environmental Sciences began a consultation process with a consortium of science, engineering, First Nations, academic, government, and sport fishing experts. This process is now resulting in co-ordination of efforts to develop three research studies to be run in staggered concurrent programs to test the new concept under real conditions in river, estuary and near shore coastal environments. Proposals for proof of concept funding of all the different configurations are currently underway for 2023 to 2025. By bringing together our engineering expertise with Sts’ailes (Harrison Salmon Producers) knowledge of the Harrison River fishery we adapted the stationary and drift fished designs of a floating trap to include combinations with beach and purse seine concepts to expand the utility and the safe fish selectivity to many different water conditions. Beach seines require beaches to enclose the net in shallow water where fish are caught but risk being crushed/injured. Our floating trap design makes catching possible in shallow and even in deeper water with no beach without the crowding/crushing of fish. In September 2020, the 25 first nations situated in the region from Yale to the mouth of the Fraser River joined the project under the umbrella of the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance (LFFA) bringing the total to 27 first nations in the B.C. Lower Mainland participating in the research project. This is expected to lead to additional innovations as traditional knowledge and experience is blended with current science and engineering. Genesis Environmental Sciences is currently reaching out to other first nation communities in the northern and coastal areas to join in testing the drift fishing, escaped fish recovery and oil spill support/response capabilities of the RiverTrap™ system. A second project involving School District 91, Nechako and the Lakes District is well underway with the delivery of the RTX-1810-4500 model on October 31, 2022. A project involving the students in the welding shop are completing the upper deck components for full scale deployment in late June, 2023. Stock assessment of the critically endangered Stuart Lake Sockeye are the focus of this project. Photo Above: The science teacher and the Nak'azdli Fisheries Manager accept the keys to the 18 ft RTX selective fishing system.
The new system is designed to protect such vulnerable species such as endangered Thomson River and Skeena River Steelhead and Coho, north coast steelhead runs and other species such as sturgeon which are devastated by gill nets. If successful, the new system may form a significant part in restoring B.C.'s world renowned sport, commercial and First Nation Fisheries. Details of the program will be communicated with stakeholders and in public forums as the research programs are approved and begin to be implemented. Opportunities will be available for stakeholders and the general public to observe the testing Equipment such as Didson Sonar for fish counting and BioMark Passive integrated Transponder Tag (PITT) readers with data logging and/or cellular or satellite data transmission systems can be added to aide scientific research and stock assessment studies.
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The simplest application is to select a platform size that suits the situation within which fishing will occur. Testing will be done for near shore traps which are fixed in position using a re-movable pole system. The wing net configuration can be changed to suit the bottom structure, changeable currents or changes in fish movement.
Below is one of the first concepts to be tested using the Basic River Trap RT model design combined with traditional beach seining techniques.
RiverTrap™ in Drift Fished Mode
One of the versatile techniques to be tested is using the RiverTrap RTX or crossover designs for drift fishing. The RTX can cross over to multiple uses by having a specific double ended net connection system (The double ender). This will allow the platform to operate in reverse mode by drifting downstream with the current using the main engine(s) to provide direction while pilot boats guide the wing net. For science and engineering fans, this draws on Einsteins theory of relativity where two objects moving at the same speed do not see any velocity or force between them. In this case the platform moves at the same speed as the river water so the nets hang vertically with no drag force. However fish swimming upstream will enter the wing nets and encounter the false bottom and move into the false bottomed throat net and then into the containment (pound net). Once inside, the pound net can be raised, non-endangered fish selected and removed and non-target fish are released via the escape gate and are un-touched and un-exposed to air. This would allow for a very high survival rate of the non-target fish.
This has a high net deployment efficiency as the wing nets do not have to be retrieved as would be the case in drift fished gill nets. In the gill nets case, the nets are only allowed out for a 1/2 hour soak and then have to be retrieved which drags the entire net back into the boat. The entangled non-target fish have to removed from the net mesh, revived and if they have been entangled for 1/2 hour (or longer) their survival rate is very low.
Additional Information will be posted at this site as subsequent projects reach pilot scale status.
One of the versatile techniques to be tested is using the RiverTrap RTX or crossover designs for drift fishing. The RTX can cross over to multiple uses by having a specific double ended net connection system (The double ender). This will allow the platform to operate in reverse mode by drifting downstream with the current using the main engine(s) to provide direction while pilot boats guide the wing net. For science and engineering fans, this draws on Einsteins theory of relativity where two objects moving at the same speed do not see any velocity or force between them. In this case the platform moves at the same speed as the river water so the nets hang vertically with no drag force. However fish swimming upstream will enter the wing nets and encounter the false bottom and move into the false bottomed throat net and then into the containment (pound net). Once inside, the pound net can be raised, non-endangered fish selected and removed and non-target fish are released via the escape gate and are un-touched and un-exposed to air. This would allow for a very high survival rate of the non-target fish.
This has a high net deployment efficiency as the wing nets do not have to be retrieved as would be the case in drift fished gill nets. In the gill nets case, the nets are only allowed out for a 1/2 hour soak and then have to be retrieved which drags the entire net back into the boat. The entangled non-target fish have to removed from the net mesh, revived and if they have been entangled for 1/2 hour (or longer) their survival rate is very low.
Additional Information will be posted at this site as subsequent projects reach pilot scale status.
RiverTrap™ in oil spill support and response mode.
Another benefit of the versatile RiverTrap RTX or crossover designs is for oil spill support and response. The RTX can cross over to multiple uses by having a specific double ended net connection system (The double ender). In this version, the containment net under the platform is replaced by a containment oil boom and the wing nets are replaced by wing booms. This will allow the platform to operate in reverse mode by drifting downstream with the current in a river or in sheltered offshore waters using the main engine(s) to provide direction while pilot boats guide the wing booms.
If a call is received to respond to an oil spill, the RiverTrap™ platform is designed to quickly convert over by removal of the nets, and loading on the oil spill support and response equipment and travel to the spill site. At the spill site, the support equipment can be deployed and the oil spill booms attached. Under the direction of the oil spill response commander, the operators of the RiverTrap™ platform can provide equipment by bringing the shallow draft vessel into areas that are difficult for other boats to reach. It is a stable platform that can also capture spilled oil and store it on board. In this manner the vessel has a distinct capital cost savings advantage as for 99.99% of the time it will be used for fishing and still be in close proximity to its home base and available to respond in the 00.01% chance that there is an oil spill in the region. This dual use will help reduce oil spill capital costs, reduce impacts and therefor minimize environmental damage and insurance and recovery costs. It will have an economic benefit to the user groups in providing fishing income for the entire fishing season each year.
Should it become involved in an oil spill, the all aluminum construction can easily be de-contaminated and put back in service for fishing. This is different than fiberglass hulled vessels which are very difficult and expensive to be de-contaminated once exposed to an oil spill.
Another benefit of the versatile RiverTrap RTX or crossover designs is for oil spill support and response. The RTX can cross over to multiple uses by having a specific double ended net connection system (The double ender). In this version, the containment net under the platform is replaced by a containment oil boom and the wing nets are replaced by wing booms. This will allow the platform to operate in reverse mode by drifting downstream with the current in a river or in sheltered offshore waters using the main engine(s) to provide direction while pilot boats guide the wing booms.
If a call is received to respond to an oil spill, the RiverTrap™ platform is designed to quickly convert over by removal of the nets, and loading on the oil spill support and response equipment and travel to the spill site. At the spill site, the support equipment can be deployed and the oil spill booms attached. Under the direction of the oil spill response commander, the operators of the RiverTrap™ platform can provide equipment by bringing the shallow draft vessel into areas that are difficult for other boats to reach. It is a stable platform that can also capture spilled oil and store it on board. In this manner the vessel has a distinct capital cost savings advantage as for 99.99% of the time it will be used for fishing and still be in close proximity to its home base and available to respond in the 00.01% chance that there is an oil spill in the region. This dual use will help reduce oil spill capital costs, reduce impacts and therefor minimize environmental damage and insurance and recovery costs. It will have an economic benefit to the user groups in providing fishing income for the entire fishing season each year.
Should it become involved in an oil spill, the all aluminum construction can easily be de-contaminated and put back in service for fishing. This is different than fiberglass hulled vessels which are very difficult and expensive to be de-contaminated once exposed to an oil spill.
Emergency Response and Support capability. The platform can also be designed to support emergency response and search and rescue. Should and oil spill or flood occur, it is unsafe to fish. The fishing gear can be quickly removed and replaced with search and rescue support materials. The platform can be designed with a loading ramp to facilitate the movement of equipment such as All Terrain Vehicles onto it. Vertical side pontoons with Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene skid plates help protect the vessel. If the platform is outfitted with outboard jet engines, it will provide for shallow draft maneuverability purposes.
For more information, feel free to call Peter K. Krahn, P. Eng. cell 1-778 870 3241 or e-mail at [email protected].