Electrofishing eel, salmon and trout: impact of waveform and frequency on capture-per-unit-effort and spinal damage

Performing fish survey protocols with different electrofishing equipment and settings can lead to difficulties in comparing the data obtained. In this study, we captured two fish taxa (i.e. the European eel and salmonids: Atlantic salmon and brown trout) in the field using four models of electrofish...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Knowledge & Management of Aquatic Ecosystems
Main Authors: Pottier, Gaétan, Nevoux, Marie, Marchand, Frédéric
Other Authors: HYDRECO, Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-INSTITUT AGRO Agrocampus Ouest, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Unité Expérimentale d'Ecologie et d'Ecotoxicologie Aquatique - U3E (Rennes, France) (U3E ), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Pôle OFB-INRAE- Agrocampus Ouest-UPPA pour la gestion des migrateurs amphihalins dans leur environnement, AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Office français de la biodiversité (OFB)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2020
Subjects:
Electrofishing
waveform
current frequency
catch-per-unit-effort
spinal damage
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
Atlantic salmon
European eel
Online Access:https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03028904
https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2020034
Description
Summary:Performing fish survey protocols with different electrofishing equipment and settings can lead to difficulties in comparing the data obtained. In this study, we captured two fish taxa (i.e. the European eel and salmonids: Atlantic salmon and brown trout) in the field using four models of electrofishers that provided different waveforms: direct current (DC), pulsed direct current (PDC) and pulsed exponential current (PEC). This study aimed to assess effects of using different waveforms and frequencies, while considering environmental variables, on i) attraction, represented by occurrence and catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of fishes, and ii) spinal damage, based on ultrasound of the spinal column. For all species, DC and PDC yielded equivalent occurrences and CPUEs, regardless of the frequency. In contrast, PEC induced a significant decrease in occurrences and CPUEs of both eels and salmonids. The percentage of injured fishes increased as the frequency or length of the salmonids increased while waveform had no effect. Ultrasound was determined to be a good non-invasive method to detect injuries in fishes.

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