Electrocution Fishing--Mythbusters Entry

PLEASE LOOK HERE FIRST!!!!
This is my entry for the Mythbusters Viewer Youtube Myths. I've found many reports on the internet about electrocute fishing, where the fisherman inserts electric cables or devices into a small body of water. This electricity from the device kills the fish and they float to the top.

But simply testing electro-fishing is not my myth. My myth is about a fisherman who lived in Kiev(winner of the 1999 Darwin Awards) who unwittingly used a similar method which led to his death. As the myth goes: "A 43-year-old man connected cables to the main power supply of his home, and trailed the end into the river. The electric shock killed the fish, which floated belly-up to the top of the water. The man waded in to collect his catch, neglecting to remove the live wire, and tragically suffered the same fate as the fish."


Is this possible? I've been getting mixed responses that the electrolytes wouldn't conduct in that large amount of water, but in this video, they clearly do. So I guess my myth is "Would This Work? Can power from a house really kill fish, and can it kill a man stupid enough to step into his own trap as well?" Perhaps only the Mythbusters can answer truly this.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Mythbusters
• Youtube
• Entry
• Myths
• Electrocution
• Fishing
• Kiev
• Death
• electricity
• jumping
• river
• abc
• science
• myth
• Fish
• Power
• Cable
• Discovery
• Channel
• Matthew
• Ebisu

[tomsaari]

It is not fake, the Asian Carp is the invasive species that jump when startled. The Michigan DNR and other vessels use rigs to shock fish for tagging purposes. 2 different things.

[Internatube]

Yeah I think that other fish are also highly sensitive to electro-fishing as well. But my myth is testing whether the man in Kieve could have died or not.

[tomsaari]

I am sure with the generators cranked up it would be enought to stun a human, then it's just a matter of drowning. Fishing is the most dangerous sport in American, more deaths per year then any other sport.

[Internatube]

It would make sense that he would die by simply stunning himself and then drowning, but the facts are that he took a cable from his house's AC outlet, stuck it in a river, and then stuck his hand in the water without removing cable, and killed himself. So, it's more bizarre and abstract.

[Internatube]

PLEASE READ THE INFO ON THIS VIDEO FOR MY MYTH!!! How high a fish can jump or whether if this method actually works is NOT my myth.

[CinematographerZ]

Wow, can fish really jump this high?

[Internatube]

I don't know... but that would be an equally intriguing myth as well. I'm more interested in the pseudo electro-fisher from Kiev, though.

[Froggerking]

cool now this is a mythbusters myth

[eftee02]

Isn't that illegal or sumthin?

[CodeValkyRie]

I guess there's only one thing to do in that situation...

LET'S PLAY BALL!

[AZIlluminati08]

lol, people think its eletricity thats making them jump. BRAIN FAIL!!! those fish jump around regardless of what u put in the water, just scare them and your eating good

[demonbuddah]

what an awesome way of catching fish

[FEVER55555]

what a wimpy guy

[darkass94]

1st Fish says: Trying to get headshot 0:24 Missed!!

2nd Fish says: Dude let me try 0:43 oh man, Almost!!

[localSickened]

a small electric charge??? my ass

[mvallin]

what a bitch

[WhalleyBlog]

@Devonmeister There are the most deaths because of drowning due to alcohol consumption. It doesn't really have anything to do with the sport itself. If in order to go bowling you consumed alcohol on or near a body of water, that sport would have the most deaths.

[WhalleyBlog]

Since this video clearly has nothing to do with the myth you are talking about, why did you put it up with the myth being the focus? The carp jump with or without the electric current so that doesn't even have anything to do with fishing with electricity. Also. when agencies like the DNR do it, it doesn't kill the fish, it stuns them. This whole video and it's association with the myth and fish shocking are pointless.