The Fish Protection Prize sought innovative solutions, designs, and strategies to protect fish from water infrastructure, such as water diversions and pipes, and intakes at hydropower dams.
This prize built on the initial Fish Exclusion Prize, run by the Bureau of Reclamation, released on March 6, 2019. The winners of the first prize were announced in December 2019. The next three-staged prize invited competitors to share their innovative approach—along with a design and research plan—for keeping fish away from water diversions and intakes.
Competitors proposed solutions for any fish species found in the United States and that could be applied to river and irrigation canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes for irrigation or municipal water supplies, cooling water intakes of power plants, or dam intakes. New ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies were also welcome.
While the prize solicited solutions of all shapes and sizes, organizers identified the following six topic areas as having the greatest potential for successful and cost-effective fish exclusion:
- Sensory deterrents (e.g., acoustic and visual)
- Turbulence and velocity-based deterrents
- Combination stimulus barriers Diversion or intake layouts/geometry
- Fish screen materials or coatings
- Fish screen cleaning methods.
The CONCEPT Stage is now closed, and 9 finalists were selected to enter the INCUBATION Stage. In the INCUBATION Stage , participants were paired with experts from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and received up to 50 hours of analysis or other support in advance of the PITCH CONTEST. The PITCH CONTEST took place September 15-16, 2020 at the virtual American Fisheries Society meeting, and this final stage determined which of the finalists received the cash and voucher Grand Prizes.
Watch the awards announcement, presented by Alejandro Moreno, Director of WPTO, and David Raff, Chief Engineer of the Bureau of Reclamation.
Important Dates
- CONCEPT Stage Open: January 27, 2020
- CONCEPT Stage Close: May 13, 2020
- CONCEPT Stage Winners Announcement: June 30, 2020
- INCUBATION Stage Open: June 30, 2020
- INCUBATION Stage Close: August 30, 2020
- PITCH CONTEST Stage: September 15-16, 2020
- Winners Announced: September 25, 2020
Sign up for updates on our HeroX challenge page.
Who Could Participate?
Calling all innovators, visionaries, and enthusiasts with a passion for preservation! Be part of a trailblazing contest sparking tomorrow’s marine life-energy solutions. Citizens or permanent residents of the United States and private or non-federal public entities, such as townships, tribes, corporations, and other organizations that are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States are invited to compete in the American-Made Challenge network. Individuals can compete alone or as a member of a group.