The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia
Wednesday, 18 October 2023 16:05

“It has been a fantastic career. It has been kind of like a fantastic dream for me. A fantastic wonder.”

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bart_carter.JPGBart Carter retired after a 30-year career at TWRA. He is credited with improving backpack electrofishing equipment commonly used by conservationists around the country. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Electrofishing innovator retires after 30 years of service with TWRA

MORRISTOWN — Bart Carter, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Region 4 Fisheries Program Manager, has retired after three decades of service to the state’s wildlife resources. 

During his 33-year career, his work included improving hatcheries, enhancing fish habitat, restoring streams to native fish fauna, helping discover new species, adding public access areas, and mentoring employees.   

One of his most significant developments during his career was designing and building new backpack electrofishing equipment.

“Electrofishing can be an effective tool for fish community sampling, fish relocation, invasive species eradication, (and) sampling fish tissue contaminants,” said Mark O’Neal, director of ETS Electrofishing systems, LLC in Madison, Wisconsin.

“The tools they use just stun fish and doesn’t kill them. It stuns them out and then they can weigh them and put a tag on them, without having to using a pole with a hook or a net,” O’Neal said.

“It puts out a high DC voltage pulse. On a boat system you have to use a larger pulse. More DC power to drive a current in the water. When the fish experience a DC current they go to the anoid,” O’Neal said.

electrofishing_backpack-brettwhitfield1.jpgAn example of an electrofishing backpack retrofitted from gas to battery by Bart Carter. TWRA

Carter said he had a great mentor when working for TWRA. He didn’t have an an electrical background and cared more about working with the water and fish, but he created the transition between gasoline powered electrofishing gear and a battery powered one.

“And I didn’t invent it. I just made some modifications,” Carter said.

Historically gas was used for the equipment and he noticed those behind him were inhaling fumes, so he modified the system to use battery power.

“As for operation. You have people behind you collecting fish, inhaling the gasoline fumes. The operator is operating the machine but those people behind you were at risk.

“Working with the agency, I developed the transition from combustion powered to battery powered. Nothing that was new. It was something we developed in-house to help develop our surveys,” Carter said.

“Lay it out there, I didn’t develop it. I just made modification to existing to what we had to use there in my little world there in East Tennessee.”

“It’s a little more convenient in backcountry or go do some stuff removed from the vehicles and certainly environmentally more suitable to work around streams and not spill gasoline,” Carter said.

Improving public river access was a priority. He was lead on developing access projects on several East Tennessee rivers. Carter was able to procure property and help add new boat ramps and access areas on the South Holston, Watagua, Clinch, Powell, Nolichucky and French Broad rivers. 

Some of his other innovations include developing new sampling gear and surveying techniques. He is credited with using a rubber pontoon boat for river sampling, and deriving ways to launch boats for fish sampling in hard-to-access rivers. He also supported new techniques at hatcheries and proposed unique fishing regulations to increase sport fish populations. 

His many scientific contributions include the development of sampling protocols, service on TWRA and American Fisheries Society technical committees, monitoring, range mapping and reintroducing imperiled species.

Carter’s career in fish and wildlife management began in 1988 when he worked for the National Park Service eradicating nonnative species including feral hogs and Rainbow Trout. After earning his master’s degree at Tennessee Tech University in 1990, Bart continued working for NPS until 1994. During his time there, he helped restore native fish populations to their historic range, set up an ongoing water quality monitoring program in cooperation with the University of Tennessee, mapped native trout distributions, established and managed a quantitative angler creel survey, and helped train numerous volunteers and seasonal employees.   

In 1994, he took a position with TWRA as the Region 4 Warmwater Streams Biologist until being promoted to his final position as Regional Fisheries Program Manager in 2010. 

“Bart is known for his ability to develop partnerships within and outside TWRA that will continue long after his retirement,” said John Hammonds, Region 4 reservoirs fisheries biologist. “He worked diligently to manage high-quality fisheries and made contributions to aquatic conservation that will have a lasting impact,” he said.

“It’s been a fantastic career. It has been kind of like a fantastic dream for me. A fantastic wonder,” Carter said.

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Last modified on Friday, 27 October 2023 13:03