Salmon Cannon for the Save
Video credit: C-NET via YouTube
A cannon? For salmon? Righhht….
Gimme a minute.
As a society we are often too wrapped up with our own human innovations to understand the impacts and consequences that they have on the rest of our world and its inhabitants.
However, there are those individuals who take it upon themselves to not only recognize these impacts, but to be proactive in their efforts of reversing the negative side effects our creations have inflicted on the environment.
One such group of individuals at Whooshh Innovations have cleverly designed a machine that serves as a solution to one of the obstacles we’ve built.
Let’s introduce the salmon cannon.
You may be asking “What problem would something that flings fish ever solve?”
Well, let us inform you of the problem….
The term diadromous fish refer to all fish that migrate between fresh and salt waters. Salmon, being one of these, are born in freshwater. They then migrate to the ocean to mature and return later in life to freshwater for breeding.
The problem is this: human made dams, spillways, and locks pose as obstacles that either kill the fish or disorient them, preventing them from completing their natural migration patterns.
According to Whooshh Innovations, the salmon cannon has the potential to correct this issue.
The contraption works like a vacuum that propels the fish through a tube made of soft material that seals around the body. Traveling between 11 and 22 mph, the inventors state that the ride is gentle, cheap, and an efficient means for the fish to bypass the man made obstacles.
As unbelievable as the salmon cannon may sound, the team has successfully tested the fish transporting tube at Roza Dam, Columbia River Gorge, and Kalama Falls without incident.
As amazing as our human innovations have been and will continue to be, it is important to be just as creative and devoted in noticing and correcting the negative effects that they have on the world around us.
