The Tennessee Valley Authority is shocking fish throughout the Tennessee Valley to measure the health of the rivers and reservoirs under their care.
A boat equipped with an electrofisher and a large live well inched along the edge of the Kentucky Dam Marina bay giving off an electrical charge to stun fish. The fish float, unharmed, to the top of the water.
“And then we’re able to bring them into the boat,” Electrofishing Team Leader Kurt Lakin said. “A person picks them up, they look at them for general health, for parasites, disease, any of that sort of thing. We’ll measure them and then we’ll weigh them and then we’ll release them out the back of the boat.”
The TVA uses Lakin’s data on the the quantity and health of fish to judge water quality. Lakin says the few samples they’ve taken so far indicate a healthy fishery and he expects the rest of his samples to be the same.
“This guy’s called a long eared sunfish. This guy is fairly intolerant of things. So it’s a good fish to see because he kinda indicates good water quality. So if things start to go bad, this guy, this guy may disappear,” Lakin said.
TVARiver and Reservoir Compliance Monitoring Program director Dennis Baxter said 22 years’ worth of fish survey data indicate a positive trend for ecological health in Kentucky Lake.
He saidmaintaining a healthy lake also contributes to economic development because it allows for a quality fishery and a great recreation area which attract businesses.
