WEBPAGE UPDATED Tuesday June 22, 2022
The Oxygen Edge™ website is a simple, advanced Primer, a basic fish care manual, prepared for sport fishermen and commercial fishermen specifically targeting safe, scientifically proven methods for safely transport live game fish and “SUPERCHARGING” live bait in any livewell or bait tank. Exchanging livewell water to eliminate metabolic toxins several times daily, non-iodized salt (for freshwater species) and especially the right dose of pure 100% supplemental oxygen administration is the magic key to maintaining excellent transport water quality for live fish and live bait transports in the summer and for overnight captivity.
*Maintaining continuous 100% DO Saturation or DO Supersaturation is the Gold Standard required by all Federal, State and private fish hatcheries for all live fish transport regardless of the stocking density, 1lb. 100 lbs. or 500 lbs. of live mature fish or live bait fish, freshwater or marine species. Cold water species require nearly 3 times more oxygen than warm water species.
This website is all about keeping mature tournament game fish and live bait fish alive and also healthy for hours of hot summer transports and days of captivity… learn about this new innovative oxygen-injection technology specifically designed and engineered specifically for marine and freshwater sport fishermen. Learn about new ways of maintaining excellent transport water quality continuously for long extended periods of time in the summer.
You will find many expert opinions here from University Professors, Federal and State Fishery DNR’s officials, Fish Physiologist, Fishery biologist including published scientific white-paper publications within this Primer.
APPLY THE OXYGEN EDGE™ TECHNOLOGY AND WATER QUALITY KNOWLEDGE FOUND IN THIS PRIMER AND YOU CAN BE A VERY SUCCESSFUL TRANSPORTING LIVE GAME FISH AND LIVE BAIT EVERY SUMMER TOO. LEARN “HOW TO” MANAGE LIVEWELL WATER QUALITY AND WITH THE RIGHT LIFE SUPPORT LIVEWELL EQUIPMENT YOU CAN BE AS SUCCESSFULL TRANSPORTING LIVE FISH AND BAIT AS WELL AS ANY FEDERAL, STATE AND PRIVATE FISH HATCHERY. ALL THE INFORMATION NEEDED FOR SUCCESS IS IN THIS PRIMER… ENJOY – David A. Kinser
The Oxygen Edge™ is the original aftermarket commercial livewell oxygen injection life support system specifically designed for sport fisherman and commercial fishermen in 1993 and continues to date. The Edge “Supercharges” live bait and prevents summer livewell suffocation during extended live transports. Fishermen have absolute control of livewell dissolved oxygen whether transporting 1 lb. of live bait or hundreds of lbs. of bait several days.
See: https://www.oxyedge-chum.com/history/texas-am-university-tested-may-1993-2/ The Oxygen Edge™ is the Gold Standard for live bait and fishing oxygen life support system. The Edge is the only oxygen system engineered and manufactured for use in marine environments. System components are not repackaged medical oxygen equipment prone to malfunction and fail because of Galvanic Corrosion.
David A. Kinser, entrepreneur, researcher, inventor, designer, and gas life support equipment expert known for “thinking outside the box,” challenging and debunking old fisherman myths and old outdated mechanical aeration technology, identifying and pointing out slick salesmanship tactics, asking the tough questions, identifying and fixing the livewell enigma that kills live bait and tournament fish in livewells and bait tanks every summer during live transports and captivity.
The solution is so simple… don’t suffocate the live bait in summer livewells and bait tanks and change the livewell water a few times daily.
Many make the claim that oxygen is air or air is oxygen, but every Doctor, nurse, EMT, respiratory therapy technician, welder, jeweler, plumber, auto mechanic, fish physiologist, University Aquaculture Professor, fish hatchery manager, aircraft pilot, mountain climber and Kinser KNOWS THAT OXYGEN IS NOT AIR. Air and oxygen is very different.
In 1993, Kinser identified and fixed the number 1 summer livewell water quality problem that kills live bait in bait tanks and livewells. Livewell hypoxia and suffocation is the problem that kills live bait and game fish in livewells and bait tanks every summer during live transports…
SUSTAINED LIVEWELL/BAIT TANK SUFFOCATION (LIVE BAIT AND TOURNAMENT GAMEFISH MORTALITY/MORBIDITY) IS THE RESULT OF CHRONIC LOW, UNSAFE DISSOLVED OXYGEN SATURATION IN OVERCROWDED SUMMER LIVEWELLS — LACK OF DISSOLVED OXYGEN SATURATION FOR THE TOTAL BIOMASS OF FISH BEING TRANSPORTED RESULTS IN LIVEWELL HYPOXIA (SUFFOCATION).
And furthermore, Kinser O2 system insures safe oxygenation even during the most hostile summer conditions in overcrowded livewell. Of course, no livewell/bait tank manufacturer, aerator or water pump manufacturers cannot and would never guarantee their product to deliver minimal safe dissolved oxygen continuously for a livewell full of live bait fish in Dog Days of Summer… they say “trust me” there plenty of oxygen in the livewell. Kinser’s commercial oxygen injection system technology was new and unheard of in the sport fishing industry in 1992… oxygen supplementation was truly a Revolutionary advancement (a paradigm shift) that insured not only safe oxygenation for live bait and live tournament fish transports – but SUPERCHARGES LIVE BAIT. Kinser’s new livewell oxygen injection technology trumped all mechanical aeration systems, air pump aerators, spray bars, bubble rocks and water pumps that were historically used for oxygenating livewell and bait tank water.
The “9-Dot Puzzle” is one of Kinser’s favorites.
Kinser, the company founder applied 27 years of human medical experience to his new venture. Kinser’s expertise with life support technology, physiology, human oxygen life support oxygen system concepts, design, fabrication, modifications, novel applications, hyperbaric medicine, design/manufacture mono-place hyperbaric chamber, PADI SCUBA Certified Dive Master and Baylor Medical School (Houston, Texas) teaching led him to embark in a new novel professional direction… Commercial aquatic life support oxygen-injection systems for live fish transports. Kinser engineered and designed his fishing oxygen system specifically for sport fishermen and commercial fishermen that transporting live baitfish and live tournament game fish.
Kinser, an avid live bait fisherman and tournament angler has an exact understanding of gas chemistry, physics and physiology, he knows “the right stuff” about keeping live bait and tournament fish alive and healthy for hours of live transport especially in the most adverse, hostile, hot summer conditions day and night. Long term captivity and stockpiling live bait for weeks is easy when you overstock your livewells and bait tanks, but you must provide minimal safe oxygenation continuously along with great water quality.
Kinser’s Customer Service ethic is unmatched by none. He’s a Pro and takes the time to share all this professional fish care information, knowledge and technical support with every customer. Every customer’s success is our business, what we do for a living. We do far more for our customers than just build and sell them fishing oxygen systems.
An expert with life support oxygen systems and oxygen life support transport equipment, Kinser recognized the summer mortality (sloppy bait problems, red-nose) caused when transporting live bait and tournament game fish in boat livewell and bait tanks is a serious life support matter. Increased live bait mortality and morbidity is most expensive and predictable every summer.
Clearly the solution to this ancient live bait transport problem was illusive and cryptic for all live bait and tournament fishermen. Their live bait and fish kept on dying decade after decade during summer transports and overnight captivity. Fishermen modified livewell shapes, colors, used all kinds of livewell additives, chemicals, tranquilizers, stimulants, dyes, antibiotics, this aerator, that air entrainment venture, spray heads, bubble stone and all those expensive livewell water pumps and literally pumped hundreds of gallons of water through livewells and of course tons of ice to chill the well water and the bait in the summer… the whole point of this futile exercise was to simply increase the dissolve oxygen to a minimal safe level and all this “stuff” never stopped the livewell suffocation and dying in overcrowded livewells in the summer…. but, a lot of people made a lot of money selling this “stuff” that never worked to fishermen for many years.
Kinser knew that fishermen forgot their high school Chemistry 101 class… Henry’s Gas Law controls how much oxygen (concentration and saturation) that will actually dissolve into livewell water and the fish’s blood, the livewell DO and DO% oxygen saturation of the fish’s arterial blood respectively.
Some fishermen do like to overcrowd their livewells and bait tanks every summer with 1 extra bait or 1 extra fish and that’s when the death and dying begins during live transports.
The summer livewell killer was neither cryptic nor illusive in Kinser’s eyes. He measured the dissolved oxygen in his aerated livewell containing his normal over-load of bait and heavy tournament limit. The low oxygen problem was crystal clear, the livewell water quality was not even close to “safe,” specifically low dissolve oxygen saturation resulting in chronic sustained livewell hypoxia… that is the problem, that was the killer. That water quality problem can be corrected with the right dose of commercial welding oxygen.
For Kinser, this hypoxia problem and solution was crustal clear and easy to fix. When the problem is hypoxia and insufficient oxygen, the only solution was simply to administer a controlled dose of supplemental oxygen, deliver the right dose of oxygen required for all the live bait and tournament fish in the livewell… that’s simple enough.
Kinser fixed the low oxygen problem with his new livewell oxygen life support technology – Enter The Oxygen Edge™, the first commercial livewell oxygen-injection system (life support oxygen system) built for sport fishermen for use in marine environments.
So, how much oxygen does your live bait and tournament fish really needed to fix this summer mortality problem? The right amount of oxygen depends 100% on your day to day, hour to hour stocking density and the season, more fish/live bait need more oxygen in the summer, less in the fall winter and spring north of the equator, just the opposite south of the equator… that’s pretty simple.
THE RIGH DOSE OF SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN THAT INSURES MINIMAL SUSTAINED SAFE LIVEWELL OXYGENATION IS 100% DO SATURATION TO 125% DO SUPERSATURATION WHETHER TRANSPORTING 1 LB. OF LIVE BAIT OR 500 LBS OF LIVE BAIT
SUPERCHARGING LIVE BAIT REQUIRES A LARGER DOSE OF SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN, 150% DO SUPERSATURATION TO 175% DO SUPERSATURATION.
Adding more oxygen does not mean adding more air, more water or more mechanical aeration into your livewell water. More air does not, will not insure minimal safe oxygenation for all the live bait or live fish in transport… that’s a myth promoted by aerator and bait tank salesmen, outdoors writers writing fishing articles and promotional testimonials from fishermen.
Fishery science, research, chemistry laws and fish hatchery live haul transport DO water quality (100% DO Saturation) is very different than the EPA DO water quality standard (5 PPM DO) in the steady state environment found in lakes, rivers and streams.
Minimal safe DO water quality standards required for all professional live fish transports world-wide is 100% DO Saturation or greater.
Kinser knew a very simple solution to fix these summer livewell kills for fishermen transporting live bait in overstocked livewells and bait tanks… a paradigm shift for sport fishermen in oxygenating livewell/bait tank water. The correct dose of 100% supplemental oxygen administration corrects the suffocation problem. Deliver the right dose of supplemental welding oxygen into the livewell water continuously during transport.
But, in the early 1990’s there were no commercial fishing oxygen systems built for sport fishermen. Fishing oxygen life support transport systems had not been invented nor manufactured yet and were not available to sport fishermen. Yet all live bait fishermen knew that hot summer livewell water did not hold enough oxygen and the bait dies, they suffocated in the livewell… add ice, induce hypothermia, pump more air, pump more water through the livewell, add livewell chemicals and always keep hoping/preying these remedies might improve oxygenation in the summer.
All these remedies work fairly well even in the summer provided the fisherman DOES NOT OVERSTOCK HIS LIVEWELL – MAXIMUM STOCKING DENSITY IS 1 LB. BAIT/FISH PER 1 GALLON LIVEWELL WATER USING AERATION (AMBIENT AIR) AND WATER PUMPS FOR AERATION.
Kinser says that the solution to the hypoxic water quality problem is the right dose of gaseous oxygen. This solution is not cryptic or magical at all, but it is and has been elusive for many decades. Like air, nitrogen gas, hydrogen, helium, oxygen gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless. All these gases make clear bubbles in livewell water and will dissolve in livewell water… but safe DO saturations in livewell water is absolutely the most important gas for fish and may be easily measured with a DO Meter or inexpensive chemical DO test. The line between safe and unsafe dissolved oxygen saturation for live fish transports in livewells and bait tanks is distinct and unmistakable. The death and dying begin when that line is crossed, you can see it in you livewell when it happens. It happens quickly every time you overstock your livewell/bait tank with live bait or tournament gamefish every summer. An absolute red-line in the sand so to speak when you know what the fish hatchery DO Saturation requirements are for live fish transports. Fishermen do not need a DO meter to know when you have crossed the hypoxic line in you livewell water, you bait will tell you, they will be screaming and panting.
Kinser knew how to measure dissolved oxygen with a DO Meter, and he knew how much oxygen was safe and when the dissolved oxygen saturation was not safe in livewells. Kinser has used a YSI brand DO meter 30 years. When the O2 saturation was not safe, he knew the correct dose of oxygen to administer. He knew how to correct that summer “low oxygen livewell problem” that fishermen experience every summer. He knew exactly how much oxygen 1 lb. or 500 lbs. of fish and live bait needed for transport in a livewell to insure 100% DO Saturation continuously. He knew the summer killer in livewells was suffocation/chronic sustained livewell hypoxia caused by overcrowding and he knew that more air, mechanical aerators, livewell water pumps, more water flush, shape of livewell, livewell chemicals or H2O2 would never correct the low oxygen problem in overcrowded summer livewells. More mechanical aeration nor greater volumes of water flushed through the livewell would not correct the low oxygen water quality problems in the summer.
Kinser knew that the correction requires supplemental oxygen administration >21% oxygen in ambient air, pure 100% oxygen was needed, and the correct dose needed to be delivered and dissolved into the livewell water continuously to achieve and sustain 100% DO Saturation in livewell water. That would take much more oxygen 21% oxygen in air. He also knew that inexpensive 100% commercial welding oxygen, the same gaseous oxygen that all State and Federal fish hatcheries use to insure minimal safe oxygen for all their live fish transports would work great and be cost effective. TP&WD hatcheries require pure 100% compressed oxygen for all live fish transports, even when TP&WD is transporting only 1 lonely ShareLunker 15 lb. trophy bass 9-10 hours across Texas back to Athens. The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas also uses pure 100% oxygen when transporting live fish around the world to the New Orleans aquarium. They never use aeration (air) to oxygenate transport water. Some will use mechanical aeration for off-gassing dissolved CO2.
Kinser knew that professional live fish transports never use mechanical aeration to insure minimal safe oxygenation for any live transports, even for a short 20-minute transport from 1 hatchery building to another – they are the real professional live fish transport experts, their job depends on their success. Mechanical aeration is used primarily to off-gas dissolved CO2 in transport water which reduced the carbonic acid in the water.
Kinser imagined, invented and manufactured a new aquatic life support technology for sport fishermen that rendered mechanical aerators, air pumps and bait pumps obsolete and marketed a new innovative commercial fishing oxygen-injection system that was quiet, portable, cost effective, could be used in any boat livewell, bait tank, ice chest or 5-gallon plastic bucket… The correct dose of pure 100% oxygen worked great! Plenty of pure oxygen fixed the lo oxygen summer livewell problem for ever. EUREKA… that’s it!
Delivering the right dose of oxygen for to satisfy the oxygen demand required by live bait and fish in the livewell continuously not only kept live bait and fish alive and healthy all day in summer livewells, a larger dose of oxygen “Supercharged” live bait… EUREKA… this is live bait on steroids, unnatural, hyper-active, strong and powerful live bait, makes fresh caught bait fish look and act like sloppy 4-day old bait.
Because of Kinser’s professional training, experience, unique insight and “lateral thinking” ability, he recognized that sport fisherman’s excessive summer live bait and tournament fish mortality problems was poor livewell water quality specifically poor oxygenation. He built the technology that delivered the correct dose of oxygen continuously for all the live bait and fish being transported and the summer lo oxygen problem vanished forever in overcrowded livewells and bait tanks every summer.
Fishermen simply needed to provide the right dose of oxygen continuously into their livewell water every summer and stop the suffocation (livewell/bait tank hypoxia) and this ancient live fish transport problem is gone forever. Fishermen can keep live bait alive and tournament fish alive all day every summer with an oxygen injection system and also seriously overcrowd their livewells in 90 F livewell water safely every summer.
The amount of oxygen required to insure “safe continuous oxygenation for live transports is 100% DO Saturation whether the transport is 1 fish or 1000 fish in the livewell; Saltwater or freshwater specie makes no difference, goldfish, killfish, tuna or menhaden makes no difference, all must have a continuous supply of dissolved oxygen at or near 100% DO Saturation while being transported in livewells, bait tanks and live haul tanks. Cold water specie requires nearly 3 time as much oxygen per lb. of fish than warm water specie require during transport.
Kinser worked with Gene Gilliland providing The Oxygen Edge™ and technical expertise about livewell oxygen-injection supplementation, oxygen gas safety, oxygen equipment safety, oxygen and boat safety for Gilliland’s research project, mid-summer 1999 in Oklahoma.
Kinser reviewed the draft before final publication and provided recommendations prior to the final draft and publication of “KEEPING BASS ALIVE” A Guidebook for Anglers and Tournament Organizers; a B.A.S.S./ESPN tournament bass care publication 2000.
Kinser’s expertise extended world-wide into offshore saltwater tournament fishing, transporting and “Supercharging” large offshore live bait (goggle-eye, pilchards, tuna, anchovy, whitebaits, etc.) and near shore C&R fishing tournament fishing along the Gulf Texas Coast and the Atlantic East Coast. Tournament Red fish, speckled trout, bone fish, bass, crappie, striper, catfish, bass, striper, crappie, catfish are species all have increased summer tournament survival dramatically because of supplemental oxygen administered by contestants all day on tournament boats, weigh-in holding tanks and live release boats.
And fishermen no longer needed to stress-out all day in any summer C&R tournament, no “dead fish punishments”, no lost money because a fish suffocated in an aerated boat livewell, no livewell pump noise, no dead batteries, water pump and aerator pump failures have no negative impact on fish survival, no ice or livewell chemicals needed, those old days were gone. Now you could choose the best livewell care or choose the old aeration and livewell pump technology that was old-fashioned less than the best livewell care for your catch… Oxygenation was REVOLUTIONARY – now you could choose the degree of tournament fish care you were willing to provide for 7-8 hours on your boat.
The Edge was the first turn-on-and-forget livewell oxygen-injection system that consistently delivered the correct amount of oxygen for all the catch in the livewell. The new oxygen technology (life support system) was absolutely dependable, always worked and never failed in the most adverse summer conditions every summer… and if any bass tournament fisherman had a great day at a summer tournament on Lake Amistad near Del Rio, Texas in August, he could safely transport a limit of (5) 10 lb. bass. His limit transported 7-8 hours (all day) in his 25-gallon boat livewell… and never give the dead fish punishment penalty a second thought. His fish would be fine, well oxygenated at weigh-in. How many times daily does a tournament stop fishing, look in the livewell and hope he doesn’t see a fish floating? You know the routine.
The Oxygen Edge™ is the first commercial designed/manufactured livewell oxygen-injection system, the aquatic life support system built for sport fishermen and commercial fishermen sold world-wide.
Kinser always provides a unique professional customer service. You will see evidence of this as you explore this web site. Kinser feels it is necessary that quality time is spent with each customer so the customer understands how to use oxygen, the equipment and techniques to achieve excellent live transport results, consistently make the highest quality live bait and keep it healthy, a clear understanding of oxygen (the pure gas), oxygen safety on boats and how to use the Oxygen Edge™ equipment to effectively and safely “Supercharge ” and keep live bait and tournament fish alive and healthy for hours and days in captivity, how to manage livewell water quality like fish hatchery professionals, how to achieve the very best outcome for your live bait and fish transports and much, much more. How to provide the BEST live bait care and tournament fish care possible.
Kinser knew that using pure 100% oxygen requires special knowledge and special oxygen equipment. Particular attention to oxygen gas and oxygen equipment safety was paramount, oxygen enrichment is certainly nothing like air and aeration. Oxygen-injection systems are not mechanical aerators or livewell water pumps… the “Rules of the Oxygen Road” are necessary to know before you purchase or use pure 100% oxygen or any oxygen system that is capable of creating any oxygen-rich conditions.
David A. Kinser is responsible for the Revolutionary Change that advanced mechanical aeration livewell and bait tank technology to commercial Supplemental Livewell Oxygenation Technology, the first livewell oxygen-injection technology commercially made for sport fishermen world-wide.
The Oxygen Edge™ is the original commercial fishing oxygen-injection livewell systems that eliminated summer livewell and bait tank transport mortality caused by hot summer livewell water, overstocking, insufficient dissolved oxygen saturations… deadly chronic sustained livewell hypoxia – Poor livewell and bait tank water quality – frank suffocation.
Kinser changed the sport fishing industry dramatically in 1993 for the better because of the advent of commercial fishing oxygen-injection systems he made for sport fishermen.
Kinser is responsible for and caused this Paradigm Shift in livewell oxygenation technology targeting sport fishing world-wide. Kinser eliminated high summer livewell mortality and morbidity that is caused by low unsafe oxygen levels commonly found in all aerated boat livewells and bait tanks, He ended summer livewell suffocation forever by administering the right dose of pure 100% oxygen.
The right dose of oxygen is determined by the stocking density and the livewell water temperature, not the livewell water volume.