Vancouver, Washington – December 12, 2006 – Smith-Root, Incorporated (SRI) has developed an electroanesthesia system for use in a wide array of fish culture applications. "This system is a new application of our previous electrofisher technologies. It is now available to the fish culture community as a safe, effective way of handling and anesthetizing large numbers of fish without the need for regulated chemicals," according to Jeff Smith, the company's CEO. "In light of recent concerns with CO2 in Europe, we think our electroanesthesia unit could be of great value to commercial fish farms," he noted.

The Model EA-1000A Electroanesthesia Unit is available directly from the company. It is a high-voltage, direct current (DC) pulsator that emits a complex waveform capable of anesthetizing large numbers of fish or other aquatic organisms for handling, marking and tagging operations. "The varying electric field first excites the fish, then puts them into an anesthetized state," said Smith. He added, "The electrical output of the EA Unit is engineered to induce the mildest possible physiological reaction by the fish." The output controls can be adjusted to anesthetize quickly and deeply, with minimum power.

Smith noted that his company's system has been used very successfully in the U.S. at Columbia River fish hatcheries (e.g. Bonneville State Fish Hatchery in Oregon and Carson National Fish Hatchery in Washington). These and other facilities where the Smith-Root EA Unit is now in use spawn thousands of salmon on an annual basis. "SRI's Electroanesthesia Unit eliminates the need for chemical anesthetics, so that spawned-out salmon can be sold or rendered immediately, without any required waiting period," added Carl Burger, the company's senior scientist. The electrical waveform is applied in successive stages, each having selectable voltages, waveforms and durations. "This gives the hatchery manager or fish culturist many options in selecting the best combination of settings for the targeted species," stated Burger. "The system is designed for precise control in a variety of fish culture environments and is a safe alternative in reducing costly handling labor at farms and hatcheries," he added. The Chinook salmon anesthetized and spawned at some of the hatcheries in the Northwest U.S. are sold to commercial vendors after spawning, for further processing and marketing.

Smith-Root, Inc. can design a system that meets exacting needs and specifications, including custom-built holding tanks and elevator arrays for moving large numbers of fish into treatment tanks. The company also designs fish counting systems, backpack electrofishers, electrofishing boats, and electric barriers to control predators or limit the movements of fish populations, including desirable cultured fish or non-desirable invasive species. The company currently operates an electric barrier in the Chicago Shipping Canal (heavily used by boat traffic) to prevent Asian carp populations from entering the Great Lakes. SRI also manufactures electric barriers to successfully control sea lamprey and carp in many other locales. "Our Electroanesthesia Unit represents a great tool for use in fish culture, and can save managers lots of time and money over the long haul," Burger said.

SRI plans to pursue the development and testing of new "high-tech" tools for the fish culturist. Smith-Root is a Vancouver, Washington-based company with over 40 years of experience in the design of innovative conservation tools and electronics for fishery scientists, managers, biologists and fish culturists. Contact the company directly for additional information.