 INTERVIEW with Debra A. Walters, Fish Biologist, Division of Wildlife
What do you do to support outdoor recreation in Ohio?
I collect, summarize and interpret fish population and angler survey data to maintain or enhance the quality of fishing in Ohio’s lakes, streams and rivers. My efforts help to ensure good fishing opportunities and information are available to Ohio anglers.
How does your research maintain or enhance a fish population?
The fish population and angler survey data I collect can be used to develop fishing regulation proposals, such as bag limits for specific fish. My research can also lead to fish stocking requests when we discover that a lake or river can support a specific species. Survey data is also used to generate our annual fishing prospects for anglers.
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Electrofishing Technique
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Fyke Net
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How do you collect information on a fish population?
The Division of Wildlife fish biologists have developed standardized procedures for conducting fish population research. We use the same types of gear at the same time of year to target bass, hybrid striped bass, sunfish, channel catfish, walleye, saugeye, sauger and crappie. The timing of our surveys is essential to successfully catching fish, just as it is to an angler.
Biologists sample fish populations using a variety of methods. In the first photograph to the left I am using an electrofishing technique that introduces electric current into the water that temporarily stuns nearby fish. This procedure is used in the spring for bass and sunfish, and young walleye, saugeye and sauger in the fall.
Fyke or trap nets are depicted in the second photo to the left. They are used in the spring to catch adult walleye or in the fall to catch crappie. They are attached to the shore and direct fish into a net basket that is anchored in deeper water.
Another method we use involves gill nets that are vertical walls of net set in a straight line in water ranging from 6 to 20 feet deep. Fish swimming into the net are caught by their gills. Gill nets are used in the fall to catch walleye, saugeye and channel catfish, and hybrid striped bass in the spring. Biologists also collect fish population data by conducting angler creel surveys at Ohio’s lakes.
 What do you do with the fish that are captured during a survey?
A fish biologist records total numbers of fish captured, sampling time, lengths and weights. A few scales may be removed to determine the age and growth history of fish. Biologist may tag or mark fish to learn about their movements, habitat preferences, growth and mortality. We may determine what a fish is eating by pumping its stomach before returning it to the water. We also collect eggs for fish hatchery production of walleye, saugeye and hybrid striped bass.
What is most challenging about your job?
Researching how environmental and biological factors affect the fish in Ohio’s waterways is always challenging, but rewarding, as the information we acquire will allow fish biologists to better understand, predict, and develop sport fish populations for Ohio anglers now and into the future. |