The Oxygen Edgelivewell oxygen injection technology is used to supercharge live bait that's being transported in closed livewell systems or stockpiled for several days in the summer. Commercial livewell oxygen technology has been available the past 10 years and works exceptionally well.

Compressed oxygen is used to oxygenate hauling water when transporting live fish by all federal, state and private fish hatcheries, none attempt to oxygenate hauling water with mechanical aerators, air compressors or circulating water pumps. Aerators are great for offgasing dissolves carbon dioxide and aid in reducing ammonia and buffering acid pH, but they all do poorly oxygenating livewell water.

Oxygen systems are not aeration systems; air systems aerate livewell water using electrical air compressors or circulating water pumps. Air is a mixture of colorless, odorless and tasteless gases which is limited and controlled by Mother Nature. Air is composed of 80% nitrogen and only 20% oxygen. The amount of oxygen delivered by livewell aeration or water pump systems is limited with these systems regardless of total volume of gas or water pumped into the livewell.

Fish metabolism, energy and durability (survival) while being transported in captivity is limited by available oxygen dissolved in hauling water. In the summer, maintaining safe dissolved oxygen concentrations THE most important livewell water quality issue. If there is insufficient oxygen available for all the bait or fish in the box, the addition of more water pumps, air compressors and chemicals will fail.

Every year, live bait fishermen world wide experience the wrath of summers heat, the aggravation and extra work catching, hauling and trying to maintaining fresh caught live bait is a major problem. Bait becomes lethargic and dies quickly in warm livewell water and the nonending procurement process repeats the loop again and again.

Obviously the problem is not the hot water as we've heard for years. Live bait and tournament fish live fine in environmental water exceeding 90 degrees F. without dying or lethargy. But we've all been told and many fishermen believe that livewell water temperature is the killer.

In reality, it's not the hot water that kills live bait. The killer is hypoxia, sustained insufficient dissolved oxygen concentrations secondary to water temperature. Fish slowly suffocate to death in the livewell while the aerator is humming and the pumps are pumping.

The problem is poor livewell water quality and inability to correct water chemistry: Hot water holds less oxygen than cooler water and saltwater holds less oxygen than freshwater at the same water temperature - a predictable loose, loose situation every year in the summer.

The solution to this ancient problem is simple and inexpensive. Oxygenate livewell water with oxygen, not air or water pumps. Welding oxygen is less expensive than pumping air or water with electricity.

If the bait in the livewell need oxygen, give them oxygen - not more air. It's the exact same principal used by doctors in emergency medicine. Can you imagine going to a hospital Emergency Room needing oxygen and the doctor breaks out an electric fan and points it toward you and tells you very convincingly that he's giving you oxygen while your gasping for breath? Well, that's what we tell the bait in the box when we turn on the livewell aerator or water pump. So, who's kidding whom?

David Kinser