WOODBINE -- The number of flathead catfish in southeast Georgia's Satilla River has been dwindling due to state efforts to fight back against the invasive Western fish.
Using a technique called electro-fishing, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries office in Waycross has been floating down a section of the Satilla, shocking and removing the flatheads.
Flatheads are more susceptible to the shock and recover more slowly than other fish. Once in the boat, their mottled yellow, brown and black coloring makes them easy to pick out.
Flatheads have been illegally introduced into Georgia's rivers, and have eaten away at native species, such as the redbreast sunfish and bullhead catfish.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, June 22, 2002.
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