Leigh Ann McDougal has started an interesting thread in Unio-L on the effects of electrofishing on mollusks. Survey biologist Stuart McGregor tells me that he has observed freshwater snails release their hold on the substrate and drift downstream after they have been shocked by electricity in Alabama streams. I hasten to add that electrofishing is generally illegal in Alabama, but is permitted as a scientific collection method. My questions for Conchland and Unioland are these: Are mollusks electrocuted or simply paralyzed by electrofishing? Are mussels affected as well as snails? Are results different in seawater and freshwater? If mollusks are killed by electric shock, is there any evidence that electrofishing contributes to the extirpation of populations in streams? Andrew K. Rindsberg Curator, Paleontological Collection Geological Survey of Alabama