Fellow 99% Invisible listeners, and my grandmother, would be proud to know that I scoured the area looking for a plaque to describe this thing.
Finding none, I was disappointed to never be able to know. There isn’t even something describing what used to be here.
Julian decided that it’s purpose was obvious: a fish-gut cannon, (correction: “pump”) which would take the unused parts of the fish and launch them back into the ocean in a fire-boat-like stream. (with a sound that is both wet and fleshy at the same time)
This seems unlikely.
Brian then accused me of not knowing how to take “correct” picture, so here is a landscape aligned photo to please him:
A far less interesting framing, I say.