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Electroshocking helps monitor fish
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| Georgia Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Paula Marcinek separates a dragonfly larvae from a bucket of fish collected July 24. |
By Matt Henderson Staff Writer
Screams rang out July 24 along the Chattooga River three miles west of Burrells Ford Road.
The scene looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie. Nearly 40 wildlife officials and interns from Georgia and South Carolina waded up the river shouldering backpacks and dipping cattle prod-like wands into the river. Fish that floated up from under rocks and mud holes were collected in large nets.
It was the second day of the annual electroshocking effort, during which scientists and interns from the Georgia and South Carolina departments temporarily shocked and counted fish to monitor the growth or decline of their populations in the previous year. This year's electroshocking took place July 23-24.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician Leon Brotherton explained why electroshocking was crucial to managing the Chattooga River's fish population.
"It is one of the tools we use for our population estimate," he said. "It also helps when we calculate what we call the young of the year."
The young of the year is the number of trout born in the last year. Brotherton said the U.S. Forest Service found a healthy trout population when it conducted an electroshocking experiment in 2007 near the bridge on Highway 28 in eastern Rabun County.
"From what we concluded yesterday, there is young of the year," Brotherton said. He added that the trout population was still in good shape despite Georgia's long-standing drought.
Dan Rankin, fisheries biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the experiment looked at many elements of the trout population and other fish in the river.
"We look at the density, biomass and relative abundance of both wild brown trout and nongame species like the turquoise darter and warpaint shiner," Rankin said.
Nongame species were separated from other fish and placed into plastic buckets by fisheries biologist Paula Marcinek. Trout were collected by Forest Service employees and put into wet wells by Trout Unlimited volunteers and South Carolina Youth Conservation Corps intern Ethan Moss.
"I was working at a fast food restaurant like most teenagers, and a friend of mine recommended this job to me," said Moss, 18. "I like always being outdoors and the different things I am doing every week."
Moss said he didn't know yet if he wanted to pursue the Forest Service as a career, but volunteering with outdoor groups was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Jeanne Riley, fisheries biologist with the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest in South Carolina, said the Georgia and South Carolina departments had been working together on electroshocking since the 1980s.
"The cooperation and commitment of both departments are important," she said. "The Forest Service has been cut back so much that we don't have as many people to do (electroshocking)."
"It is a rare case of a lot of government agencies working together," said Larry Walker, a member of the Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Walker said electroshocking gave DNR officials and conservationists a record of the long-term ecology of the Chattooga River.
TU volunteers took part in electroshocking because "most people in Trout Unlimited enjoy fishing and the outdoors and would like to continue enjoying both for years to come," he said.
The scene looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie. Nearly 40 wildlife officials and interns from Georgia and South Carolina waded up the river shouldering backpacks and dipping cattle prod-like wands into the river. Fish that floated up from under rocks and mud holes were collected in large nets.
It was the second day of the annual electroshocking effort, during which scientists and interns from the Georgia and South Carolina departments temporarily shocked and counted fish to monitor the growth or decline of their populations in the previous year. This year's electroshocking took place July 23-24.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician Leon Brotherton explained why electroshocking was crucial to managing the Chattooga River's fish population.
"It is one of the tools we use for our population estimate," he said. "It also helps when we calculate what we call the young of the year."
The young of the year is the number of trout born in the last year. Brotherton said the U.S. Forest Service found a healthy trout population when it conducted an electroshocking experiment in 2007 near the bridge on Highway 28 in eastern Rabun County.
"From what we concluded yesterday, there is young of the year," Brotherton said. He added that the trout population was still in good shape despite Georgia's long-standing drought.
Dan Rankin, fisheries biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the experiment looked at many elements of the trout population and other fish in the river.
"We look at the density, biomass and relative abundance of both wild brown trout and nongame species like the turquoise darter and warpaint shiner," Rankin said.
Nongame species were separated from other fish and placed into plastic buckets by fisheries biologist Paula Marcinek. Trout were collected by Forest Service employees and put into wet wells by Trout Unlimited volunteers and South Carolina Youth Conservation Corps intern Ethan Moss.
"I was working at a fast food restaurant like most teenagers, and a friend of mine recommended this job to me," said Moss, 18. "I like always being outdoors and the different things I am doing every week."
Moss said he didn't know yet if he wanted to pursue the Forest Service as a career, but volunteering with outdoor groups was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Jeanne Riley, fisheries biologist with the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest in South Carolina, said the Georgia and South Carolina departments had been working together on electroshocking since the 1980s.
"The cooperation and commitment of both departments are important," she said. "The Forest Service has been cut back so much that we don't have as many people to do (electroshocking)."
"It is a rare case of a lot of government agencies working together," said Larry Walker, a member of the Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Walker said electroshocking gave DNR officials and conservationists a record of the long-term ecology of the Chattooga River.
TU volunteers took part in electroshocking because "most people in Trout Unlimited enjoy fishing and the outdoors and would like to continue enjoying both for years to come," he said.
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| Strong year closes with tough losses |
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