Eric Hockersmith ,Gordon Axel, and Earl Prentice (NOAA Fisheries Service)

Development of an Ogee-based PIT-tag Detection System for Spillbays

Roger Anderson, Alex Artyukhov, and Eric Waters (Destron Fearing)

Don Warf, Scott Livingston, Darren Chase (PSMFC)

Presenter: Sandra Downing

Jack Sands, Jon Lomeland, Stuart Gregory, & Mark Plummer (Corps)

Scott Bettin (BPA)

Why are PIT-tag systems needed for spillbays?

Outline of Presentation

Design considerations

Evaluation of installed PIT-tag system

Development process

Installation schedule

The spillway has long been considered the safest passage route for migrating juvenile salmonids at Columbia and Snake River dams.

A review of 13 estimates of spillway mortality published through 1995 concluded that the mortality rates for fish passing standard spillbays range from 0 to 2%.

Radiotelemetry has shown that the RSWs attract ~50-60% of the fish using the spillways.

Why are PIT-tag systems needed for spillbays?

25-35% of the salmonids detected as adults do not have any detection records as juveniles except for tagging information

More detections could help with survival estimates for reaches and specific ESUs

Detections would provide route specific information

• RPA 55.7 – Investigate the feasibility of developing PIT-tag detectors for spillways and turbines.

With spill being used as the preferred passage route, fewer PIT tagged fish are being detected at the dams.

A PIT-tag system in spillbay could potentially help to return the precision of smolt survival indices back to historical levels.

Spillbay Tainter gate

Spillbay

Dam

Spillbay Crest

Unmodified Spillbay

Spillbay Tainter gate

Spillbay

Dam

Spillbay Crest

Unmodified Spillbay

Ogee

Unmodified Spillbay

Spillbay vertical rising gate

Spillbay

Dam

Spillbay Crest

Unmodified Spillbay

Spillbay vertical rising gate

Spillbay

Dam

Spillbay Crest

Ogee

Where to install PIT-tag antennas?

Forebay side, on spillbay gate, or in ogee?

Design considerations

Ogee faceOgee-based design is attractive for several reasons:

1) it will not affect hydraulics;

2) there will be no debris issues;

3) the design will permit multiple antennas to be installed across the length of the ogee and therefore reduce the impact of tag collisions (i.e., multiple tagged fish being in the field simultaneously);

4) the design will permit multiple antenna arrays to be installed, which is important from an O&M perspective and to reduce the impact of tag collisions; and

5) the design will potentially worked for all styles of spillbays

Nice laminar flow along ogee face in RSW Spillbay

390 ft

350 ft

380 ft-water depth is 4.0 ft velocity is 62 fps

372 ft- water depth is 3.7 ft, velocity is 66 fps

360 ft

370 ft

Black arrows represent every 5’ on face of ogee

Ogee-based design is difficult for several reasons

350 ft

380 ft

353 ft-water depth is 3.2 ft velocity is 75 fps

363 ft -water depth is 3.5 ft, velocity is 71 fps

How fish pass down the ogee is unknown

Design Considerations for the Ogee-based PIT-Tag Detection System

Want flexibility in generating field shapes to help minimize tag collisions and dealing with unknown fish passage behavior

Multiple antenna arrays

Test a faster tag

Need powerful antennas

Multiple antennas within each array

Ogee-based PIT-tag Detection System

Four antenna arrays

Four or five antennas in each array

Transceivers will be under water

Faster 16-msec PIT tag

This design is actually similar to the corner-collector antenna design. The design also uses what Destron Fearing learned with the antenna tests done with the spillbay gate in the repair bay at Bonneville Dam.

Antenna Design: Vertical Flat Plates Each antenna has 3 subantennas

X

Y

Why are Tag Collisions an Issue?

For ogee-based systems, this can happen in the X, Y, and Z directions.

Multiple antennas within the trenches

What to do to minimize tag collisions in different directions?

X direction

Y direction

Z direction

Multiple trenches

Reduce power so antenna field is only 3’ wide (possible? 2 subantennas?)

Reduce power so antenna field is only 3’ deep

Y and Z directions at same time

Reduce power so antenna field is only 2’ deep

Reduce power so antenna field is only 3’ wide and 2-3’ deep (possible?)

water depth: 4 feetwater velocity: 65 fpsDistance for 2 messages: 4 feet

Easy to imagine multiple fish being in such a large field

Top Antenna Array

5.5’-wide at bottom and 4-5’-wide field for top foot of water

Full power – option 1

water depth: 4 feetwater velocity: 65 fpsDistance for 2 messages: 4 feet

Top Antenna Array

5’-wide for most of field and covering 3’ of water

Middle power – option 1

This shape only helps minimize tag collisions in Z direction

water depth: 4 feetwater velocity: 65 fpsDistance for 2 messages: 4 feet

Top Antenna Array

5’-wide for most of field and covering 2’ of water

Low power – option 1

This shape only helps minimize tag collisions in Z direction (Most likely would get non-reading gaps between antennas).

water depth: 4water velocity: 65Distance for 2 messages: 4 ftDistance for 2 short messages: 2 ft

Top Antenna Array

3’-wide at bottom and covering 3’ of water

Middle power – option 2

This shape helps minimize tag collisions in Y and Z directions

water depth: 4water velocity: 65Distance for 2 messages: 4 ftDistance for 2 short messages: 2 ft

Top Antenna Array

Low power – option 2

3’-wide at bottom and covering 2’ of water

Adjust power down even more to minimize tag collisions in Y and Z directions

Development process

New ogee transceiver finished in March 2011

Testing at Pasco with transceivers and 6 subantennas

Dry and submerged testing

Faster 16-msec tag completed in 2010

Installation schedule

If installed at Ice Harbor Dam, 2012

If another dam is chosen, 2013 at earliest

MOU between BPA and Corps will dictate the schedule

How do we evaluate how well the system detects tagged fish?

How do we determine what modifications are needed for future systems?

Evaluation of installed PIT-tag system

Evaluation of installed PIT-tag system

PIT-tag only fish released above spillbay using pipes inserted at depths used for evaluation of RSWs or TSWs.

Fish double tag with PIT and an active tag released into the forebay.

S1 S2S3S4

D1

D2

Test Release point & GroupThree different water depths D1-A, D2-A, S1-A

Three or four different locations across the entrance

S1-A, S2-B, S3-B, ?: S4-B

Fish tagged with 31-msec and 16-msec tags S1-A, S1-C ?: also S2

Evaluate 2 or 3 different power settings or field shapes with both tag types

S1-A, S1-C , S1-D, S1-E ?: also S2

Evaluate groups of fish at 2 or 3 different power settings with both tag types

S1-F, S1-G, S1-H, S1-I ?: also S2

S=surface and D=depth

Preseason Evaluation of Ogee-based PIT-tag Detection System

Minimum of 12 tests with yearling Chinook salmon, 5 tests with Steelhead and subyearlings

Preseason Evaluation of Ogee-based PIT-tag Detection System

Release individually tagged hatchery into the capture velocity

Individual trenches

Evaluate detection efficiencies for

Combination of individual trenches (e.g., 1&2; 1&3; 1&4; 1,2,&3; 1,2,&4)

All trenches together

Determine number of reads per tagged fish for

Different antenna sizes, trenches, species, tag types

Use above data to determine how many antenna arrays are needed

Release double-tagged fish at Lower Monumental Dam

Release 500 double-tagged yearling Chinook salmon

Release 500 double-tagged steelhead

Release 1,000 double-tagged subyearling Chinook salmon

Monitor double-tagged fish at RSW Spillbay at Ice Harbor Dam

Fish will be double-tagged with PIT tags and either acoustic or radio active tags

Inseason Evaluation of Ogee PIT-tag Detection System

Inseason Evaluation of Ogee PIT-tag Detection System

If preseason testing indicated a large significant difference between power settings, use a block design to compare two settings during the normal outmigration season.

Monitor number of fish detected

Monitor number of reads per tagged fish over time

Monitor noise measurements for the transceivers over time

Ice Harbor Dam Spillway RSW BypassTurbineNav Lock

PIT-tag system

NEWPIT-tag system

Depending on the salmonid group and spill pattern, 5-20% of the fish use the bypass and 60-90% use the spillway. The RSW attracts ~50% of the spillway fish.

Therefore, we are currently detecting 5-20% of the tagged fish with the full-flow PIT-tag system.

Adding the new ogee-based PIT-tag detection system, we hope to detect around 50% of the tagged fish passing the dam.

Questions?

Anten

na

Tren

ches