The Effectiveness of Non-Physical Barriers for Fish Movement: Water Gun, Boomers, Bubble, Sound, and Alarm Cue

When dealing with invasive species, permanent barriers may be best in deterring fish movements, they may not be feasible due to various logistical constraints and/or costs. Alternatively, various non-permanent barriers using electricity, light, sound, pressure, and bubbles are being developed and deployed in efforts to limit the spread of aquatic invasive species or to achieve fish guidance and conservation. However, effectiveness of these barriers is quite variable, and testing is often lacking or limited to small-scale lab settings. To evaluate the effectiveness of non-permanent barriers in preventing fish movement, we conducted mesocosm studies in a large boat slip near Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada. In 2014, we deployed 8 acoustic receivers and tracked over 200 tagged freshwater fishes in the boat slip that is divided in half by non-permanent barriers such as acoustic water gun, seismic boomer plates, bubble barriers, underwater speakers, and delivering alarm cue. Our results indicate that fishes were staying further away from water gun and boomers when in operation. The results of 2014 field season and its implications will be discussed, which would be important for evaluating management options to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species such as Asian Carp.