It’s been a while since we last posted as we have been delivering most of our news via our twitter account. Please do follow us @FishtekConsult (https://twitter.com/FishtekConsult) to get regular updates on our projects.
Since the last news feed we have been very busy carrying out fishy work across the UK as well as expanding our international work into Africa and South Asia, with projects in Nepal and Liberia. In Liberia we have been carrying out some exciting research to inform the construction of the world’s first prawn pass. The African River prawn has been found to play an important role as an ecological control of Schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in human populations by feeding upon a vector species of snail. The construction of dams disrupts prawns natural migration and risks local extinction, which has been linked to an increase in snail populations and in turn bilharzia infection rates. The prawn fishery is also important for the local economy and as a source of protein.
Fishtek were recently in Liberia undertaking novel research to determine the swimming and climbing ability of prawn in order to inform the design of a specific prawn pass facility, the first in the world to the best of our knowledge. Below is an image of our test facility with prawn successfully climbing the roughened channel, as well as photos of the team comprising Fishtek staff and local fishers. The project was carried out working with Mrag and on behalf of MCAL (Millenium Challenge Account Liberia) and the results are now being used by Fishtek to design a full scale prawn pass at the site. We hope to be able to share photos of the built pass sometime in 2020.
