Friday October 24, 2014
As we approach the peak of the adult salmon run in our local rivers, our FABLAB has been busy preparing for the upcoming juvenile outmigration-monitoring season this winter. As part of these preparations, our dedicated team of technicians has been hard at work constructing our supply of custom measuring boards. A large component of our fieldwork revolves around the collection of length data from emigrating juvenile salmon. This data is important for establishing age classes and determining the overall health of the population as they pass through our monitoring sites. We measure the fork, total, and standard lengths of fish that we sample, which helps us document the life history stage of each individual. Our boards can handle fish up to thirty centimeters in length, which is more than enough for the juvenile salmon and other species we encounter during sampling.
Given the rough-and-tumble environments our field technicians often find themselves in, these measuring board workhorses require replacing almost every year. These are just one example of the customized equipment that our skilled team of craftsmen is capable of producing. Whether it’s as big as the construction of two large-scale PIT tag antennas or as small as a humble measuring board, our team has the capability to design and fabricate the specialized equipment that is demanded for even the most challenging projects. To find out more about the other creative solutions concocted by our team of experts be sure to check out the FISHBIO FABLAB.
