Collecting fish to determine what is going on with wild populations has a long and storied history. Today, effective sampling requires a sophisticated understanding of gear design, materials, and performance, vessel operations, target fish species behavior, and local habitat conditions. This archive strives to pass on the basic fundamentals of the complicated and multidisciplinary process that is fish sampling on to future generations of field biologists.
The videos and associated web page content are organized by sampling gear type. If you already know the type of sampling gear you want learn more about just type it into the search bar. If you’re not sure what gear type might be best for your application, you can start browsing around by selecting either passive gears (stationary gears that the fish swim to) or active gears (gears that are moved to capture the fish).
This archive will be a continual work in progress as technologies change and new protocols emerge. So, keep checking back with us to see what we have added to the site. If you have questions or there is a cool piece of gear that is missing from the archive, please drop us a line; matthew_patterson@fws.gov, cecilia_melton@fws.gov.
We would love to hear from you.