Fishing with Electricity

by Biswas, K P

ISBN: 9789389605457
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Imprint : Daya Publishing House
Year : 2020
Price : Rs. 7995.00
Biblio : 2019, xviii+184p., tbls., col. figs., ind., 25 cm

Author Profile

Dr K P Biswas, M.Sc., Ph. D., D.F.Sc. (Bombay), E.F. (West Germany); F.Z.S., F.A.B.S. (Kolkata) initiated the work on Electro-physiology and Electric Fishing, first in India, in 1961 at Odisha. He developed an electric seine to catch fishes from large and deep waters and reservoirs with the aid of portable AC generator and successfully caught bottom and burrow dwelling fishes, which otherwise, are difficult to catch with any other fishing gears. He determined electro-physiological constants of several fishes of freshwater and marine habitat. In 2015, the author has developed a DC electric shocker to catch fishes without any net. In 2017 and 2018, he guided eleven M.Sc. students of Calcutta University for their thesis work, “On the reactions of twenty Indian fish species in DC and pulsed DC electric field.

About The Book

The book envisages the use of under-water electric field for catching fish. The use of electricity for catching fish has been practiced from a long time by the fishermen of different regions, the recorded evidence of which goes to 1886, when one Mr. Isham Bagg was issued a patent in Britain for catching fish with electricity. The author is the first person, who undertook fishing with electric seine as early as 1962 in Odisha, and in 2015 by developing an electric fish catcher. Originally, after several studies on fish electrophysiology, in different countries, the technique was applied in freshwater fisheries, like, streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, mainly for research and investigations and fisheries management. In this book, the author has tried to compile the basic principles of electrofishing system, with reference to design, construction and field application with the precautions and safety measures to be followed while construction and use of the electrofishing gear not only for the operational crews, but also for the fishes to avoid unnecessary mortality and injuries. The experiments and trial of electrofishing in sea water, particularly, of pulse trawling for flat fish, Hovercran shrimp trawling, and experiments with pelagic fishes in design criteria for electrical fish harvesting systems, which includes netless fish harvesting and mid-water electric trawling have find place in the book. The principal system components of electric fishing machine, its design consideration, power transmission, both from battery operated backpack and boat mounted electrode array and the factors affecting the efficiency of electrical fishing gear have been taken into account in the book.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement vii Preface ix Introduction xv 1. What is Meant by Electrofishing ? 1 2. Principles Behind Electric Fishing 5 3. History of Electrical Fishing 35 4. Electrical Fishing Technique Adopted in Different Regions 39 5. Electrofishing Boat 47 6. Fishing with Electricity in other Countries 79 7. Electrical Fishing in India 89 8. Electrical Fishing in Sea Water 97 9. System Components – Electric Fishing Machine 119 10. Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Electrical Fishing Gear 137 11. Electrofishing Induced Injury and Harmful Effects 141 12. Hazards of Electrofishing: Precautions and Safety Measures 151 13. Electrofishing Policy and Code of Practice 155 14. Electrofishing Terminology 167 References 173 Index 181