RICHMOND, Va. (WFXR) —

“You can’t see it. It’s electric. Boogie, woogie, woogie…”

“Electric Slide”

What does electricity have to do with fishing?

When it comes to fisheries management and the preservation of Virginia’s world-class fish resources, not bad.

Electrofishing is a method used by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) to assess fish populations. A boat equipped with specialized equipment moves through the water, passing low-level electrical current in its path. The current is strong enough to stun nearby fish without killing them. They then float to the surface where they can be caught.

Once on the boat, the crew identifies each fish, takes measurements and samples of scales and fins, and sometimes tags the fish. What DWR crews learn can tell them a lot about what they need to do to ensure that our various fisheries thrive.

The DWR was recently surveying populations of hickory shad, American shad, blueback herring, alewife and striped bass on the James River in downtown Richmond. The numbers of these fish have fluctuated in recent years, so they are closely monitored and counted weekly during their annual spring migrations.

“We try to control the population of Alosines; these are American shad, hickory shad, alewife and blueback herring,” said Alan Weaver, DWR Fish Passage Coordinator. “These fish come in waves, they come in pulses, so by sampling every week, we’re kind of bringing the whole picture together for spring.”

Knowing these numbers helps anglers and biologists take action to help keep fish populations in balance, and balance is key. Each species is a vital link in the ecosystem.

Take shad and herring, for example. They are born in rivers, swim out to sea, then return to the rivers of their birth each spring to spawn and repeat the process. Along the way, they eat plankton, small fish and other animals. They, in turn, serve as food for other fish, animals, birds, and even humans. If you lose one of these layers, the whole system suffers and in some cases it can even collapse.

This is why it is so important to monitor and manage these populations.

“They may look like little silverfish, but they’re incredibly charismatic,” said Clinton Morgeson, DWR’s Region 1 aquatics director. “They are the lifeblood of these freshwater rivers along the Atlantic coast.”