PNNL

Abstract

The successful migration of juvenile salmonids downriver on the Columbia and Snake Rivers to the Pacific Ocean in the United States Pacific Northwest has been challenged due to the multiple hydropower facilities located on these rivers. Because head injury likely results from physical trauma, such as impacting a physical structure or extreme high velocities, the development of a biomarker assay to quickly assess subacute physical injury and recovery is essential to determine the impact of hydropower structures on fish health.