SeaView Systems’ innovative thinking has earned a $25,000 prize awarded for their submission to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Great Lakes Invasive Carp Challenge.
In the USA, millions of dollars and countless hours have been spent over that last 20 years trying to control and prevent the spread of invasive bighead and silver carp (also known as Asian carp). Multiple technologies are currently being deployed, however, current measures are not 100% effective in preventing invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes. As recently as June 2017, a large silver carp was captured beyond the electric barriers, just nine miles from Lake Michigan. The prevailing concern is that a more sustainable and innovative solution is needed.
The State of Michigan appropriated $1,000,000 for a challenge seeking to prevent the movement of invasive carp species into Lake Michigan from the Illinois River through the Chicago Area Waterway System. SeaView’s submission to detect carp in the regions between electric fences using multibeam imaging sonar then stunning the fish with a high energy directed acoustic pulse before retrieving with an ROV was awarded a $25,000 grant.
“The solution for The Great Lakes Invasive Carp Challenge was a confluence of our previous experience: weapons systems, acoustic imaging, seismic survey, ROV tunnel inspection and Artificial Intelligence,” said Matthew Cook, president of SeaView Systems. “The effort to combat invasive species, particularly Asian carp, is challenging but vital to the health of the Great Lakes.”
Matthew will be presenting SeaView’s solution at the Great Lakes Invasive Challenge Carp Tank and Summit later this month, hosted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
