I have a theory, and it's just a theory, that if a pondowner had an electrofisher unit and IF he used it on a regular basis say monthly or even once every two months in his own pond, at least one or two things would likely happen. 1. The fish that would get shocked on an initial frequent basis would quickly learn to avoid either the oncoming electrical current or a noisy boat that contained a generator. I am sure the gas powered generator produces lots of sound vibrations that transmit into the water. 2. Frequently shocked fish, maybe several times a year, would start to exhibit some sort of physical or mental stress which would lead to health problems.
I am not sure if this has ever been studied. There is some published data about a short term study on the affects of repeated electroshocking on fish at one day intervals (Cross & Stott 1975). It did not seem to affect them very much.
Fish seem to learn to avoid lures and some other negative reinforcements, why not electroshocking?
