Video: OpenHydro tidal turbine vs fish

Cape Sharp Tidal has released a video showcasing the interaction between an OpenHydro tidal turbine and a group of pollock shoaling around it at slack tide.

The video shows an earlier OpenHydro prototype moving slowly at about 6-8 RPM deployed at EMEC in Scotland, while the shoaling fish move away from the turbine as the tidal speed increases.

In more than ten years of monitoring, there hasn’t been a single recorded incident of fish, mammal or sea bird collision with in-stream tidal turbines, according to Cape Sharp Tidal.

“All indications are that fish are in close proximity to the turbines when the water is moving slowly – slack tide. Scientific models support these results. There is no hydrodynamic ‘pull’ from the turbine or meaningful pressure change around the turbine, as has been observed in barrage installations that employ a completely different turbine technology or that would affect the important lobster larvae,” Cape Sharp Tidal said.

As reported earlier, Cape Sharp Tidal had plans to install the first out of two 2 MW OpenHydro tidal turbines in the Bay of Fundy at the end of this month.

However, due to the complaints of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association regarding the environmental concerns about the impact of the turbines on the fish and Bay of Fundy’s ecosystem, Cape Sharp Tidal decided to postpone the installation of the turbine to conduct more consultations with the fishermen.