Southampton-based company Fish Guidance Systems Ltd (FGS) has beenannounced as a winner in the prestigious 2001 Queen’s Award forEnterprise competition. A small, high-tech R & D based company,FGS has developed innovative solutions to the problems of fish killsin the water intakes of thermal and hydro-electric power stations andother industrial and domestic water supply intakes. The FGS productscreate an intense underwater sound field that prevents fish fromentering the danger area. The noise is quite harmless to fish andavoids the need for fine-mesh steel screens previously used at someintakes. Company Director Dr David Lambert said, “The old fashionedmechanical screens block easily and injure fish. They may requirecleaning several times a day. Larger water intakes often simply haveno screens and therefore the fish are drawn in and killed”.
Fishery specialist Dr Andy Turnpenny (Director) says, “I spent 15years working as an environmental scientist in the power industry,watching the needless destruction of large quantities of fish thatare accidentally drawn into industrial water intakes. I wanted to dosomething about it.” Andy co-founded the company with acousticsengineer, Dr Jeremy Nedwell (Director). Dr Turnpenny estimates thathundreds of millions of fish every year are already being saved byFGS equipment, which has now been installed on more than 40 intakesacross Europe. “Interest in our systems is huge”, he says. “We haveoverseas agents queuing up to represent us and the take-up incontinental Europe is extremely promising”.
Dr Lambert reports that success has been down to the company’s R& D culture. “All three directors come from a scientific researchbackground but in an applied industrial context. We understand thepractical issues that our customers face and the economics.” Growthis partly driven by the ever-increasing environmental legislation and’greening’ of attitudes around the world, but mainly by the sheereconomic benefits of a system with such low manpower maintenancecosts. “We have had to learn the commercial production side fast, “said Dr Lambert, “but our philosophy has been to outsource themanufacturing, allowing us to concentrate on quality control and newproduct development”.
For more information, contact: Dr Andy Turnpenny (Director),telephone: 02380 893513 or email a.turnpenny@fawley-arl.co.uk
Visit our website: www.fish-guide.com
Fish Guidance Systems Ltd
Marine & Freshwater Biology Unit
Fawley
Southampton SO45 1TW
Tel: 023 80 890 850
Fax: 023 80 891 471
