The 2000 and 2004 Biological Opinions required that efforts continue towards the development of surface bypass technology as a means of increasing juvenile salmonid passage survival (Section 9.6.1.4.1 in 2000 BiOp).  It is thus imperative that a suitable interrogation system be incorporated into the corner collector installed by the Corps at Bonneville Dam (B2CC) in order to continue to provide the PIT-tag data required for research, monitoring, and evaluation efforts.  For most of the models used by fish managers, their predictions would be significantly weakened if data were not collected in the B2CC.  Statistical analyses based on these models have determined that an overall detection rate of 60% is needed for the corner-collector interrogation system to replace the detections that were being detected at Bonneville Dam before the operation of the B2CC.  To meet the goal of 60% detection, Digital Angel (DA) is designing an improved transceiver and tag so that the interrogation system will work with the large antennas that will be necessary for this application.

After the first prototype antenna failed, BPA met with its contractors (DA, NMFS, and PSMFC) in December 2004 to start the process for designing and fabricating a new design for the antenna and its housing for the corner collector.  Based on the experience gained from the first prototype and the fact that the general design for the transceiver system was known, the new antenna design could be simpler.  Instead of the balance antenna design used in the first prototype that separated the excitation and receive functions, DA now proposed using a single antenna that both produces the field and receives the return tag modulation.  They also plan to incorporate an air gap around the antenna wires to reduce the self-resonance of the wires.  The hope now is that a complete interrogation system will be ready for the 2006 juvenile salmonid outmigration.

During the process to develop a new system, BPA has requested that NMFS provide design input and technical review toward the development of the new antenna.  In addition, NMFS will handle the regional coordination to ensure that all interested parties are kept informed on the progress of the project.  Lack of communication was one of the major issues cited as leading to problems with the development of the first antenna housing.  This work will involve trips to Bonneville Dam and Portland; time to prepare presentations and to attend meetings; conference calls; writing and editing activities.  

Unlike during the first round of development, this round will have written plans that will allow input from all of the interested agencies and organizations.  The plan will include step-by-step descriptions of the test procedures to be used, a list of the test equipment required to conduct the evaluation, and how the data will be recorded and presented.  This more open-forum approach will hopefully help to avoid skipping critical steps during the development of a reliable product.  NMFS will help BPA in ensuring that the goal of keeping interested parties informed is achieved.

When the new prototype production antenna is produced, it will need to be evaluated at Bonneville Dam before it is installed.  At that time, tests will need to be conducted to evaluate the performance of the new transceiver system to determine not only how well it detects tags throughout the whole interior of the antenna, but also how stable the system is (i.e., we need to produce a system that requires minimal adjustment).  To do this properly, the plan for how to test the antenna and related electronics needs to be written and presented to the design team for review and approval.  NMFS personnel will assist DA in preparing the test plan and in testing the combined antenna and transceiver systems at the Bonneville test facility.    

During FY06, NMFS proposes to assist BPA by monitoring the fabrication of the antenna and its housing and the transceiver system, by helping with the testing of the antenna and transceiver systems, assisting with the installation of the equipment, and then assisting DA with finishing up their development by running tagged drone and fish tests.  In addition, BPA has requested it assist them in designing the fish evaluation test needed to determine the reading efficiency of the new PIT-tag detection system for the major salmonid populations that will be transiting the corner collector.