Cotter’s Environmental Science class went on a field trip to St. Mary’s University on May 3.  Around 20 students from Ms. Halvorson’s class walked Gilmore Creek on St. Mary’s campus looking for fish.  Dr. Joshua Lallaman from SMU instructed the Cotter group.

The students were shown how to electrofish to collect data on the fish in the stream.  To measure the size and number of fish in the creek.  The group found many young brown trout.

Electrofishing uses a current to attract fish and is a common method of conducting  studies on waterways.

“I enjoyed electrofishing and catching the fish I also liked exploring Gilmore creek. I learned that only brown trout live in the creek because they are apex predators.” Cotter junior Abigail Allen said.