Fisheries Management staff are often called upon to obtain water samples for testing by other bureaus within the Department of Natural Resources. Through such testing points of concern can be identified and steps can be taken to correct problems. Fisheries management staff also collect trend data from individual lakes for our own purposes. This type of data can be extremely important in the event of a fish kill or in cases where nutrient or sediment loading is becoming an increasing problem and corrective action is required. For example if a lake is found to be consistently turbid steps can be taken to reduce the silt load entering the lake. If summer stratification of lakes is found to limit fish habitat, destratification systems may be place to aerate more of the water column; thus; making more habitat available for fish.

This device, called a Secchi disk, shows the fisheries staff how clear the water is, a variable that is very important for good lake health. Water clarity affects the depth to which sunlight penetrates, affecting water temperature and aquatic vegetation.

This device shows how much oxygen is dissolved in the water. Extremely important to know, for fish need to breathe too!