SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK--With the cool, clear water of the Hughes River rippling around the ankles of his waist-high waders, James Atkinson checked his team to see if it was ready to sweep this section of sylvan mountain stream for fish.

Long-handled nets? Check.

Collection buckets? Check.

Electroshock backpacks? Check.

"Well then, let's see what's in here," said Atkinson, fisheries and wildlife biologist for Shenandoah National Park.

The veteran park scientist slowly lowered the poles in each hand toward the surface of the stream. They contain electrodes that deliver electricity from the gas-powered generator on his back.

As the poles dipped into the water, there was no snap, no crackle, not even a tiny pop.

But in seconds, a good-sized brook trout floated to the water's surface, belly up.

"There's one, right between Jim's legs!" yelled Ben Carswell, one of eight seasonal biotechs, volunteers and students deployed in a scooping line spanning the 30-foot streambed.

Keenly aware that the fish will be stunned only for seconds, the young crew responded with a frenzy of swinging and scooping.

Amy Stewart, a veteran of fish-monitoring teams in Georgia, Alabama and Florida for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had the quickest net.

In one smooth motion, the bandanna-wearing seasonal park employee snagged the fish and deftly dumped it into a waiting bucket.

For a half hour and 50 yards of streambed, it was a fascinating process, largely because of the way it reveals so many fish.

Before the electricity is added, the stream looks empty, simply a collection of moss-covered rocks, pools and ripples.

But as Atkinson and full-time biotech Dave Demarest slowly edged their probes way under rocks, through crevices and into deeper pools, dozens of brook trout, black-nosed dace minnows and an occasional eel were revealed.

Atkinson, pleased to report that the Shenandoah trout are now holding their own, will oversee the measuring, weighing and recording of each fish that's collected.

All but a handful saved for a study on mercury levels in park fish will go back into the stream, unharmed.