Pilot Study of the Effects of Simulated Turbine Passage Pressure on Juvenile Chinook Salmon Acclimated with Access to Air at Absolute Pressures Greater than Atmospheric

Abstract

The impacts of pressure on juvenile salmon who pass through the turbines of hydroelectric dams while migrating downstream on the Columbia and Snake rivers has not been well understood, especially as these impacts relate to injury to the fish's swim bladder. The laboratory studies described here were conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the US Army Corps of Engineers Portland District at PNNL's fisheries research laboratories in 2004 to investigate the impacts of simulated turbine passage pressure on fish permitted to achieve neutral buoyancy at pressures corresponding to depths at which they are typically observed during downstream migration. Two sizes of juvenile Chinook salmon were tested, 80-100mm and 125-145mm total length. Test fish were acclimated for 22 to 24 hours in hyperbaric chambers at pressures simulating depths of 15, 30, or 60 ft, with access to a large air bubble. High rates of deflated swim bladders and mortality were observed. Our results while in conclusive show that juvenile salmon are capable of drawing additional air into their swimbladder to compensate for the excess mass of implanted telemetry devices. However they may pay a price in terms of increased susceptibility to injury, predation, and death for this additional air.