By Taylor Hill | Takepart.comOctober 10, 2014 2:37 PMTakepart.com
How do you get rid of invasive fish in streams while minimizing harm to native species?
Zap ’em all.
Electrocuting fish can save Montana’s native trout from being overrun by invaders from the East, according to a new study published in the North American Fisheries Journal.
Here’s how it works. Start with two land managers from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks wading through streams in the upper Missouri River basin. One is armed with a net, and the other carries what looks like a Ghostbusters backpack.
The “backpack shocker” contains a battery that sends a current to a wand held by the ranger. As the ranger sweeps back and forth through the streams, the jolt of electricity temporarily stuns the fish. That gives the net-wielding ranger time to snatch up invasive brook trout while returning the native westslope cutthroat to the stream—mostly unharmed.
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