Members of the community will have the opportunity to see electrofishing in action and learn first-hand about the method from scientists during a field demonstration at Loxton on Thursday 8 February.
Led by scientists from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions' research division, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), attendees will go on a pontoon boat ride to follow the electrofishing boat and observe the team, from a safe distance, as they collect samples.
Electrofishing is commonly used by fisheries researchers around the world to capture freshwater fish in rivers and lakes. The method generates a field of electricity in the water, which temporarily stuns fish in the immediate vicinity for a few minutes so that they can be scooped up with a dip net and placed into live wells. The fish are then measured, weighed and sometimes tagged before being returned to the water once they have recovered.
Electrofishing facilitates the capture of fish from a wide range of sizes from as small as 20 millimetres to more than a metre long.
When performed correctly, electrofishing is safe for fish and tagging studies have shown that it does not cause long-term harm. The stunning is temporary and fish are returned to the river unharmed.
Electrofishing is a key method used for sampling fish as part of various long-term monitoring programs in the Lower River Murray including the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Program (Flow-MER). In the MER Program, electrofishing is supporting investigations of changes in fish communities through time, and specifically the abundance, growth and recruitment of Murray cod and golden perch, in association with flow.
The electrofishing demonstration event will be held at Apex Park in Loxton.
