Electrofishing is a standard process lake management professionals and biologists use to obtain data on the current fish population of a lake. Electrofishing lets everyone involved with a lake's management know what is happening benefit the water's surface. Data relating abundance, density, growth rates and health of the various species is obtained. That data is used by biologists to create recommendations tailor to the needs of the lake's owner.
Electrofishing does not harm fish. A special boat with electrofishing equipment is taken out on the lake and the fish are temporarily stunned. As they float to the surface, they are then are netted with soft nets, placed into live wells which contain water where the fish can remain healthy and alive while they are being measured and weighed. They are released unharmed back to the lake. It may look like it harms the fish, but it does not. Within moments of being stunned they are released back into their natural habitat.
Electrofishing is a tool used in lake management. Through electrofishing, problems can be diagnosed and resolved before they become major issues. An imbalance in species in a pond can be corrected. When fish are removed and studied and counted, a good understanding of the relationship between the various fish populations is gained. Stunted fish can be removed. Invasive species that may destroy the ecosystem of a lake can also be removed. Sometimes fish are not growing as large as a lake owner would like. This is because there are too many predator fish and not enough food. By culling some of the fish, it allows those that remain to grow larger.
When a fishery has a problem, just adding more fish is not necessarily the answer. Better management of what you have can be the answer. That can involve harvest harvesting undersized bass, improving water quality, and removing invasive species. Rather than simply spending money on more fish, the electrofishing data becomes a tool to effectively manage the current fish population. It becomes a tool to help bring the ecosystem back in order to serve the owner's needs.
A lake management company that does electrofishing can obtain the raw data, create a comprehensive management report, and offer corrective suggestions that are tailor to the goals of the pond or lake owner. By finding out what is currently in the lake or pond, the biologists and management team can determine what it will take to correct the lake to bring it in line with the owner's dreams and objectives. Electrofishing is a tool to help create the lake of your dreams.