For the second consecutive year, Univeristy of Missouri Fisheries Professor Dr. Douglas Noltie contacted Columbia FRO to request assistance with his Fisheries Techniques course. 

Fishery Biologist Jeff Finley was a student in the Techniques course in the first year it was offered at the university.  The course focuses on basic fish collection, water quality and habitat assessment techniques commonly used in fisheries. 

However, the course is largely focused on “flat water management” and historically lacked a river component.  To change this, Dr. Noltie scheduled a day on the river with Columbia FRO staff to help teach fundamentals of sampling fish communities within a riverine environment.

The class was divided into small groups and assisted in the collection of real data for the Habitat Assessment and Monitoring Program (HAMP). 

The groups collected fish samples from Mini fyke nets, drifted trammel nets and otter trawls from both the stern trawler and the push trawl boats. 

The experience helped students to understand the challenges faced in collecting fish from a river with swift currents, shifting or soft substrates and drifting debris.