Thus, the possibility exists that some proportion of sampling sites will be located within protected areas or 

 within ranges of protected fish species. Eventual access to these sites may be denied or possibly restricted 

 (in terms of when sampling can occur or how samples may be obtained) by State or Federal agencies when 

 scientific collecting permits are issued. Finally, a large-scale sampling effort requiring multiple field crews 

 requires consistent implementation of the sampling and data acquisition procedures to permit robust 

 comparisons of data across sites sampled by different crews. Table 4-7 presents measures used to control 

 for crew differences. 



Specialized equipment needs and technical requirements for field and laboratory personnel are presented in 

 Table 4-8. No specialized sampling or analytical equipment or instrumentation is required for the indicator. 

 Some level of technical expertise is required to support the collection of data for the indicator, especially in the 

 areas of ichthyology, fisheries biology and aquatic ecology. Some of this expertise can be gained through 

 specialized training programs, or addressed through staffing schemes considered under Guideline 4. Karr 

 (1991) points out the need for experienced professional fisheries biologists in the initial development and 

 subsequent interpretation of the indicator values. 



Table 4- 8. Equipment and technical expertise requirements 



Specialized Field or Analytical Equipment 



Backpack, bank or boat-mounted electrofishing unit, seines, nets. 



Technical Expertise 



Field: 



Ability to identify majority of common fish species in field 



• Especially state-listed species, larger species and sport fish (on which 

 sampling restrictions may be placed) which are identified and released 



Ability to operate different types of sampling gear safely and effectively 



• Electrofishing 



• Seining 



Laboratory: 



Ability to identify all fish species in region from preserved specimens 



• Especially small, non-game fish (e.g., minnows) 



Ability to review literature , compile information, and categorize individual fish 

 species regarding life history characteristics, tolerance to disturbance, etc. 



Data analysis and interpretation: 



Critical that professional fisheries biologists and ecologists be involved in the 

 selection and evaluation of metrics, the determining of expectations for each 

 metric, and the assignment of threshold values associated with different 

 classes of ecological condition. 



4-15 



