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MARIETTA – An electric pulse is sent out from a boat sitting in the Ohio River, while fish nearby float to the surface, stunned.
From there the team in the boat uses nets to scoop up the fish for data collection and study, then returns them to the water unharmed.
For the last several years, the Friends of the Lower Muskingum River has had an electro-fishing demonstration at the Ohio River levee, allowing the public to come see what it’s all about, and they did so again Wednesday on the levee in Marietta.
Jesse Daubert, board member for Friends of the Lower Muskingum River, said the event is all about education.
“The Ohio EPA…will go to Buckley Island and different habitats to get a mixture of fish,” he said. “They’ll be talking about the fish, similar habitat features and what (the fish) require…They take questions from people (in attendance). Overall, it’s a really cool time to learn about electro-shocking.”
He said the demonstration wouldn’t be possible without the late Marilyn Ortt, who passed away May 25. The event has been annual for nearly a decade thanks to the Friends founder.
Heather Lauer, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA, said using electro-fishing is common.
“It actually starts in the spring and goes into fall,” she said. “We sample different watersheds around the state.”
She said the process involves a low electrical current that fish swim toward.
“It tightens their muscles on one side (of their bodies),” she said. “As they come closer to the electrical source, they float to the top of the water; it temporarily stuns them.”
Lauer said fish collection is important for finding out what species are in an area and if anything is wrong with them.
“As the fish come to the surface, we take them, put them in a wet tank, then observe what they are and what condition they’re in,” she said. “It gives you a good idea of what’s in the water.”
She said seeing new fish populations is a positive indicator.
“We can find out why the fish are doing well here,” she said. “It can indicate water quality is inclining or declining. We can indicate if they have deformities or tumors (and try to find out) why it’s happening here and why it’s happening now; we can assess overall health of the stream.”
Unlike the EPA, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources uses the technique for sport fish assessment, most frequently for large mouth, small mouth and spotted bass. The Ohio River will be tested sometime this month.
“We do sport fish surveys,” said Mike Greenlee, fish management supervisor for the ODNR Division of Wildlife. “We’ve been working with Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity on threatened and endangered species recently in the Muskingum River, and also with invasive species like the silver carp and big headed carp.”
Daubert said one of the key purposes of the event is promoting the rivers.
“It fits in with our goals of the Friends of the Lower Muskingum: promoting recreational use of the water,” he said.
He said many people think of the rivers here as having low water quality, but the demonstration can prove otherwise.
“There’s a misconception that the Muskingum and Ohio rivers are incredibly polluted water bodies…(The fish-shocking) shows indicators of water quality,” he said. “A lot of different species (indicates) we probably wouldn’t be finding fish biodiversity (with a lot of pollution).”
Fish present in the Ohio River include standard catfish, large mouth buffalo, flathead catfish, several varieties of bass and several species of red horse, which are sensitive to pollution.
“When I find species like this, I know the water quality is very good,” said Kelly Capuzzi, fishery biologist for the Ohio EPA and conductor of the demonstration.