Safety, safety, safety!! I can't stress that enough for electrofishing. Bill C. covered this pretty well, but let me make a few points, and answer at least one question.
Boat electrofishing -- ALL boat occupants must wear life jackets, rubber gloves, and rubber boots. We allow no exceptions, even on a warm, sunny day when people want to work on a sun tan. Boats typically have two safety switches. One is usually a switch on the electrofishing control unit which the boat driver can hit quickly. The other is usually a foot pedal or foot pad for the front of the boat. The dipper, who stands behind a waist-high rail, has to step on the pedal to allow electricity to flow to the water. If that person would happen to fall in, the foot would come off the pedal, and the circuit would be cut.
Someone (BZ, I think) asked about the backpack units. The ones with generators are designed to automatically shut off if they move too far from vertical. So, if a person fell, the generator "should" shut off (mechanical failures are a different matter). Also, the "wands" that put the electricty into the water have a switch on them. The switch must be depressed to complete the circuit. If you fell, you are supposed to let go of the switch. All you would need to do is relax your hand, and it would turn off, which I would guess would be a natural response. Despite these safety features, I'm not sure we can even buy a generator backpack unit any longer. You can buy the battery ones, but not the generator ones. When we checked with the two primary companies (one US and one in Canada), neither sold generator types because of "safety" reasons.
Finally, YES, electrofishing is an art. I have no doubt that Greg Grimes is great at it. However, there is indeed a learning curve for rookies.
