Mason5419 wrote:
I’ve been witness to so many acts of stupidity over the years that I thought I had seen it all until I started to read the blather on this thread. The comments are off-based and founded in ignorance. I am ashamed to call myself a fly-fisherman, but even more troubling is that this is a commentary on just how ignorant and uninformed many on the forum really are. Dave Weaver’s last post was the only intelligible comment on this entire thread, and to his credit was very accurate.
First of all, there is very little mortality associated with electrofishing surveys such as this; less than 1 percent but no more than 5 percent. From a population dynamics standpoint that is a wash. Look up the concept of a biological compensatory response, then re-evaluate your thoughts.
Secondly, the fish are marked on the first day of the survey and approximately 70 percent are recaptured during the second day. The missing 30 percent are not dead, they avoided capture. Electrofishing is not 100 percent efficient at capturing all the fish in the stream; thus the mark-recapture population estimate. Based on the total number of fish captured during the survey compared to the number of fish captured during the second pass that are marked versus unmarked, a population estimate is generated. For further reference consult Ricker 1975.
The notion that appreciable numbers of fish succumb to delayed mortality after these surveys in absolutely a product of the conspiracy theorists’ imagination. Fish are not left to die underneath the undercut banks. In highly conductive waters such as limestone spring streams direct current is used which is very “fish friendly” compared to other options. The “wands” are the positive and the metal plate on the bottom of the barge is the negative. When exposed to the electrical field, fish experience a galvanotaxis response in which the fish swim towards the positive field or the “wand”. If you notice in the video, the biologists push the anode (wand or positive) up under the undercut banks and when they pull them out trout are following them...galvanataxis.
Finally, I suggest that if you think electrofishing is harming the Big Spring Creek aquatic community, think again and consult the most recent biologist report on the PFBC website. Big Spring has been surveyed nearly annually for at least the last several decades and the trout community continues to thrive. So...if your looking to point the finger at the PFBC as to why you can’t catch trout...well use your imagination as to what I was just thinking!
Finally, if you have complaints about fisheries management regarding Big Spring or other waters in south central PA, don’t complain about it here. Call your local Fisheries Manager! As is turns out, I fly on a jet to get where I need to be, but I absolutely don’t ridicule the pilot and tell him how to do his job...thus endith the first lesson!
P.S.
The white powder is MS-222; the only federally approved fish anesthetic on the market. Clove oil is not legal to use no fish.
