Electrofishing on the Patuxent

Type: Nontidal
Region: Central
Location: Patuxent River

I've been blessed to have the opportunity to accompany DNR Fisheries staff on several outings over the last several years. When Brian Richardson, who is in charge of Hatcheries and Finfish Restoration called and asked if I would to go 'electrofishing' with a crew of biologists, I jumped at the chance.

We all met near Wayson's Corner on the Patuxent where I learned the targets would be hickory and American shad. The shad would be collected to ascertain if the fish were wild or hatchery-stocked fish returning to spawn. Hatchery stockings of the hickory shad have been so successful in the Pax over the last few years that the fishery is considered 'recovered' and additional stocking efforts have been suspended. Restoration efforts for the hickorys are now focused on the Choptank River.

Chuck Stence, the Project Leader for the Anadromous Restoration project took his place behind the console of the electrofishing rig and Matt Baldwin, a Fisheries Biologist and Sean Knowles, a Fisheries Technician readied the boat for launch. We were soon underway upstream to a section of river that is routinely and consistently fished by the team.

Matt and Sean mounted the business ends of the electrofishing rig to the extensions that would be in the water and deliver the low amperage charge to stun the fish as the boat slowed and got in position to drift downstream. Shortly, fish were appearing on the surface and darting back to the depths of the muddy water. Matt and Sean, armed with long nets, had only a moment to identify the target species among all the fish that were affected and bring it to the boat and the waiting livewell. White perch, striped bass, river herring and abundant gizzard shad all were seen. It was fascinating to watch and keep from saying "There's one" only to have it be a gizzard or a herring.

Our drift ended soon enough with some of both species to sample. The fish would be taken to the lab and the otolith, an organ in the ear of the fish, would be removed. Under a microscope and ultraviolet light, the chemical tagging would appear and indicate when the fish had been stocked. (More on this topic in my report on the Joseph Manning Hatchery tour.)

Overall, I learned that the team travels across the state with the electrofishing rig to obtain samples for research or live fish for breeding purposed. Just the day before our trip on the Patuxent, the team had been on Conowingo pool collecting green sunfish to breed with bluegills. Why? It seems that the resulting hybrid is raised and used to support youth fishing derbies across the state. The hybrid sunfish grow fast and large, bite readily, fight hard and do no damage to the ponds where they are stocked � a perfect fish for kids to catch.

I applaud the boots-on-the-ground efforts of our fisheries biologists who work long hours, travel to where they are needed to provide the data needed for our science-based fisheries management here in the Free State.