In a short time, aquatic biologists from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission netted hundreds of fish from the Wissahickon Creek just above the covered bridge – and then returned them to the water. Biologist Aaron Henning (center in photo) relayed that SRBC had won the contract to assess the health of the waterways in this region as part of a national study commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The day before, Henning, his teammate Matt Shank and Michelle Peck from Region III IEPA were working down on the Schuylkill River in the less scenic refinery area. Electrofishing entails putting a weak electrical current in the water through a rod, which actually attracts the fish Henning says, to momentarily stun them. This gives the biologists enough time to identify them by species, take measurements and, for some of the larger specimens, take plugs of tissue to test for PCBs and other contaminants. Henning showed off two large, American eels, a species that lives in fresh water but migrates to spawn in the ocean. The squirming pair were eager for release. More photos here
Electro #Fishing the #Wissahickon #creek @SRBCnews @EPAregion3 @FOX29philly @TreeHouseWEC @ChestnutHillPA @PhillyH2O @phl17 @myphillypark @FOWissahickon @pafisherman #electricity story here: https://t.co/PPgNSTgUoL pic.twitter.com/vCjHIEoagS
— brian rudnick (@buhrayin) August 29, 2019
