For more information click here:Announcement Electrofish_Ludington_MI_05032011

Dates: February 28 – March 4, 2011
Course Location: Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Boynton Beach, Florida
Course Length: 5 days/36 hours
Instructors: Jan Dean, Lew Coggins, & Alan Temple

Click here for full details and application form.

Additional improvements are being made on a continuous basis (new Excel tools, video clips, etc.) so it can serve as a updated reference for biologists.

The Principles course is the full course that many operators around the world will already be familiar with, taught by Alan Temple, while the electrofishing safety course is for crew members.

To see the these courses, you have to access them on a learning management site called DOI Learn. Best way to get going is to go to this website and download the printable application. Fill it out, print it, scan it, and email to dana_dennison@fws.gov

You’ll be given an account (username, password) to access DOI Learn and the courses. The DOI Learn website is available here.

Participants will partake in electric field and electrofishing theory as well as backpack and electrofishing boat training and will have the opportunity to use the latest in technology.

Please note that limited places are available and registration is on a first come, first served basis. Your registration can’t be confirmed until course fees ($950 per person) have been received by Aquateco Consulting, so please act promptly to avoid missing out.

Full details and online registration forms are available at; www.aquateco.com under ‘Recent News’.

For further information or to register please contact  Mel Butler on 07 5335 8500 or email mel.butler@aquateco.com

About the instructor;

Dr. F. Michael (Mike) Holliman is Chief Research Scientist for Smith- Root, Inc. Mike has taught electrofishing courses to fisheries professionals and lectured university courses on Fishery Science and on the Theory and Applications of Electrofishing to undergraduates and graduate students. He is becoming an internationally recognized expert on the effects of electric fields on fish and invertebrates, with recent expertise in the use of underwater electric deterrence fields for the control of invasive species. Mike is also an expert and is well-published in the peer-reviewed literature regarding fish injury potentials and techniques to minimize deleterious effects during sampling applications that involve electrofishing for a wide array of species.

Mike will be assisted by Andrew Bruce from NSW DPI fisheries and Aquateco staff.

Click here to view the video.

Lord Farday fishing the Macquarie River, NSW with generator cowling removed.

The hull is a 3.4m v-nosed aluminium punt design, custom built by Chris Veal and his team at Baldwin Boats, Mildura, Victoria with input from Clayton Sharpe at the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre. Powered by a 50HP 4-stroke Mercury and featuring the following luxuries, the boat is faster and much more stable (albeit no lighter) than the rather agricultural design of FRV PoleVolt:

• insulated generator shroud;
• side console steering with electric tilt & hydraulic steering;
• electric generator start wired into console;
• integrated live-well with fill-pump, overflow outlet, side-drainage and carpeted cover;
• deck wash;
• navigation, deck & spot lights for night fishing;
• 12V accessory port for charging your 3G iPhone (safety first); and
• an OH&S-lovers bow gate (my personal favourite – so civilised!).

On the plane in the Macquarie River, near Warren, NSW.

Burke O’Neill, director of ETS Electrofishing, supplied the MBS-1DP-COL-SR high-peak current control box, developed by Colton Perna for Australian conditions. This unit is designed for nominal 240 VAC, single phase, 50 Hz operation, from a portable alternator – in this case supplied by a 6.5 KVA Honda from Powerlite – and is capable of delivering 4.8 KVA to the electrode system. Unlike the standard MBS-1D, the safety interlock pad/switch on the COL-SR may be used to directly switch the high voltage output on and off without resetting the front panel START/RESET button. In laymans terms, this combines with the full ETS volt and amp metering to provide more effective and efficient fishing than the 5.0 GPP Smith-Root systems. It’s also about 2/3 the price and user serviceable!

Fishing the Warren Weir pool, Macquarie River, NSW.

Colton Perna completed the wiring of the boat to meet the rigorous Australian standards (which I will post in our resources section the near future), with waterproof safety switches and the ubiquitous quick-release anode fittings. The anode themselves are a relatively new design aimed at eliminating the hassle of setting-up the industry standard Wisconsin arrays – droppers can simply be clipped on and off using the stainless carabiners to change electrode resistance. A new, finger-friendly system of  anode attachment and rotation system, designed by Clayton Sharpe, is also fitted – instead of drop-in holding pins, two frilled circular plates mesh together under a large circular nut which can be adjusted while wearing gloves.

A tagged Murray Cod about to be released.

Our biggest teething problems have been with the trailer. Baldwin Boats supplied a Dunbier trailer, with beefed-up leaf suspension and a third-wheel. This set-up is perfect for launching recreational boats on standard concrete ramps into deep water. However, as any freshwater field technician knows, in the world of research these facilities are available at about 5% of sites visited. On the steep, muddy banks of Western NSW, retrieving Lord Faraday is quite an undertaking, especially if the trailer and boat need to be retrieved from the bottom of a steep bank separately (as is sometimes the case) – the extended corners of the front deck mean that the trailer has to be tilted skyward and the boat scooped onto the trailer, otherwise the deck corners smash into the trailer lights. The deck is also wider than the side skids which hug the hull once the boat is fully retrieved. Lastly, the roller adjustment stems hang down too far, which reduces 4WD clearance dramatically for no reason. We’re currently adjusting the set-up to resolve these issues.

A 3rd wheel winch launch at Warren Weir, Macquarie River, NSW.

Overall, Lord Faraday presents a big step forward in small boat design for Australian river and wetland electrofishing operations. So many great features have been packed on board, while still providing ample space for other gear and a 2- or 3-person crew. Once adjustments to the trailer are complete, I think one would be hard-pressed to find a slicker unit on Australia’s waterways (mind you, I’m slightly biased).

The software is essentially a Microsoft Excel file with a series of macros which enable users to calculate their power outputs given their gear specification and settings. Version 1.41 includes a revolutionary equipment capacity page which begins to answer the question that all electrofishing users should be asking, ‘Can my equipment actually catch the fish that are here?’.

Download the manual.

Download the software.

Dr Alan Temple, from the USFWS National Conservation Training Center will be teaching the course, assisted by Colton Perna. The course will consist of two days of classroom-based teaching focusing on electrofishing theory and safety, plus a day of field-based demonstrations and hands-on teaching – possibly at nearby Centennial Park.

The cost of the course will be AUD $1000 per person, including catering of lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea (payment details to be announced soon – either by UNSW invoice or credit card). Accommodation is
available close to the UNSW campus, or near Central Station (20 minutes by express bus).

Please register your intent to attend (or a list of attendees from your institution) by email to thomas.rayner@unsw.edu.au. The course will be limited to 30 students. If there is sufficient interest, a second course may be held during the following week, 2 November. Participants that successfully complete the final exam will receive a certificate from the USFWS.

See you there,

Tom Rayner.

We can offer the online training to anyone anywhere and we can offer the field practicum at your location based on a minimum enrollment (5+ people in order to re-coop some travel costs of the instructor). This course is recognized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This course does not meet the provincial regulations that exist in BC, and not does it meet the requirements of OMNR employee training – all others may take this course.

We have course fee reductions for First Nations groups and NGOs – please contact the CRI Training Coordinator for more information: Michelle Gray m.gray@unb.ca.

Course information also available at:

http://www.unb.ca/research/institutes/cri/opportunities/courses/electrofishing.html