Alaska river turbine not harming fish

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Researchers in Alaska investigating the effects a power-generating turbine in the Yukon River is having on fish say things look good so far.

"In the brief testing that we have been able to accomplish, we have no indication that the turbine has killed or even injured any fish," said Andrew Seitz, project leader and assistant professor of fisheries at the University of Alaska.

Alaska Power and Telephone installed the in-stream turbine near Eagle, Alaska, this summer to tests its ability to provide power for the village.

Seitz is studying the device's potential effects on fish moving through the river channel, a U of A release said.

The 16-foot wide, 8-foot tall turbine is suspended from an anchored barge in the deepest and fastest part of the river and has four blades that spin at about 22 revolutions per minute.

"The community of Eagle, residents along the Yukon River and Alaska Power and Telephone have all been very supportive of the fish studies," Seitz said. "Everyone's biggest consideration is the fish."

Researchers are using nets to capture fish at the turbine site. They are counted, measured, examined and released back into the river.

Preliminary results show very few fish are passing through the turbine and those that do are not showing any signs of injury, Seitz said.