Feb 20, 2005 5 min read

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Beginning at the confluence of the West Fork and Tygart Rivers in Fairmont, West Virginia, the Monongahela River flows through the coal fields and mountains of West Virginia into western Pennsylvania then joins the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. The Monongahela River also owns the distinction of being one of the few rivers in the United States that flows north. Native Americans named the river Monongahela, which means river with crumbling or falling banks.

Despite its rich history as a major waterway for the transportation between the coal fields and steel factories, fishes of “The Mon” basin had not been explored or studied systematically until 2003 when California University of Pennsylvania’s biological sciences faculty members, Drs. William Kimmel and David Argent were awarded a $120,000 grant from the Pennsylvania State Wildlife Grants Program. This funding allowed the researchers to inventory fish bio-diversity of 40 Monongahela River tributaries.

Through a recent grant in the amount of $25,469 awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Kimmel and Argent will conduct a complementary survey of fishes of the main stem of the river from the West Virginia border to Pittsburgh.

“Now we will be out on the main stem of the Mon River looking to see which fishes are in the main part of the river, as compared with what we found in the tributary survey,” Argent said.

“I think this is going to be great. Ever since I’ve been here I’ve wanted to get some money to do some work on the big rivers,” said Argent, who came to Cal U in 2000. “The Monongahela River really has not received much attention. I’ve talked to some people who have lived here a long time, and they talked about how poor the water was back in the 50s and 60s as opposed to where it is now. It’s going to be nice to get out and see how the river has recovered itself over the years. A lot had to do with the Clean Water Act in the 1970s. There are still significant amounts of raw sewage and mine drainage that need remediation.”

With Pittsburgh hosting the prestigious Bass Masters Classic this summer, interest in big fish such as bass, sauger and walleye has understandably increased.

“The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is certainly interested in the project, and some of the decision-making process that went into getting the award was run through the Fish Commission. They are definitely interested in knowing what’s in the river from an angling standpoint,” said Argent. “They do some surveys, but they primarily target the game species such as bass and walleye. Those surveys are very short-termed surveys in selected river regions. They are not really dealing with the whole river itself. We are

trying to be a little more comprehensive in that regard and keep track of all the different species we collect, not just the game species.”

Kimmel and Argent’s project concerns itself with the bigger picture.

“Diversity for one thing,” said Argent when asked what he and Kimmel will be looking for. “We would really like to know what is in the river. No one has really done a systematic study of the Mon River looking for what variety of different fish might be in there. There is also a threat with the recent pools that are filling up with acid mine drainage. We may actually see a decline in the number of species throughout the river, as a result of the acidity. This study will provide background information on the resident fish community against which future environmental perturbations can be measured.”

Kimmel and Argent hope to begin this project in early May before boat traffic considerably increases. The faculty members hope to hire two students during the summer to help with the collections. They will be housing the fish they collect in a museum that is being created on the third floor of the Frich Biology building. “We believe it is important to have an inventory of the fish in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Argent said. “We hope to keep one or two representatives of each of the specimens we collect.”

Gill netting and electro-fishing will be the two main methods used to collect specimens. Argent explained that gill netting is a method of intercepting fish during their diel movements utilizing 125 to 300-foot long panels of mono-filament mesh. Electro-fishing employs a low-voltage current to temporarily immobilize fish rendering them susceptible to capture and subsequent release.

According to Argent, the majority of the grant monies will be spent on travel back and forth to the site and to purchase equipment such as gill nets and anchors as well as maintaining the equipment. The Cal U students hired by Kimmel and Argent will gain valuable experience in modern fisheries techniques. Such practical experience at the undergraduate level is essential to professional career development in fishery science.