Density and species dependent errors in single pass timed electrofishing assessment of riverine salmonids

Honkanen, H. M., Dodd, J. A., Fordyce, J. R., Boylan, P. and Adams, C. E. (2018) Density and species dependent errors in single pass timed electrofishing assessment of riverine salmonids. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 27(1), pp. 98-102. (doi: 10.1111/eff.12327)

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Abstract

Electrofishing techniques are widely used for the estimation of the size of stream-dwelling fish populations for both fishery management and scientific study. In contrast to multiple pass, population depletion methods, single-pass catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) methods are less time-consuming and labour-intensive. A possible issue with the commonly used fixed total time CPUE protocol is that it does not differentiate between the time spent actively fishing and the time incurred while not actively fishing (e.g. removing fish from nets and navigating the site). This issue is likely related to fish density. This study compared two methods of CPUE electrofishing and tested the hypothesis that time spent handling fish and navigating a site can be a source of error in the commonly used fixed total time electrofishing method. Seventy-one sites were sampled across three subcatchments in the Foyle catchment in Northern Ireland. We found a difference in the catch per unit time between the two methods and that this difference increased with fish density. The fixed-time CPUE method also failed to detect a species presence in low-density sites.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Honkanen, Dr Hannele and Dodd, Dr Jennifer and Adams, Professor Colin and Boylan, Dr Patrick
Authors: Honkanen, H. M., Dodd, J. A., Fordyce, J. R., Boylan, P., and Adams, C. E.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Ecology of Freshwater Fish
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0906-6691
ISSN (Online):1600-0633
Published Online:18 January 2017

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
489201IBIS (SCENE 2)Colin AdamsEuropean Commission (EC)UNSPECIFIEDRI BIODIVERSITY ANIMAL HEALTH & COMPMED