SEAFWA Journal Volume 9, March 2022

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have been stocked by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (Commission) into rivers and creeks in the mountain region of the state since the 1940s, but few trout fish- ing opportunities have existed in other regions. In December 2016, the Commission began to stock trout once a year into publicly accessible small impoundments across western and central parts of North Carolina. However, no formal evaluations of angler use in response to these...

Beaver Dam on the White River in northwest Arkansas, built in the 1960s for hydropower and flood control, releases cold water downstream suitable for trout survival. The trout fishery in Beaver Tailwater relies heavily on stockings, as natural reproduction is limited or nonexistent. In 2006, a 330–406 mm protected slot limit was implemented along with reduced stocking rates to increase the number of large rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Beaver Tailwater. Further, a catch-and-release area was changed to a special regulation area (SRA) that allowed harvest but restricted...

Fish length data are important for assessing sportfish populations and establishing and enforcing length-based harvest regulations. Evidence suggests that fish length can change after preservation in ice. These changes can impact comparison of live-caught and post-catch length measurements and therefore angler compliance to regulations, a concern raised by state law enforcement personnel. Similarly, length changes may skew length-based analyses done by fisheries managers. We evaluated TL changes of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), catfishes (...

Otolith age validation studies are essential to identify the accuracy of using otoliths to age fish; however, black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) otolith validation studies have not been conducted for either adult or age-0 individuals. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate annu- lus and daily ring formation in lapilli otoliths of black bullheads. We assessed timing of annulus formation using marginal increment analysis on 409 black bullheads caught monthly from July 2015–June 2016 in Lake Carl Etling, Oklahoma. We evaluated daily growth increment deposition by...

Accurate and precise age estimates are required to correctly estimate fish population metrics such as age, growth, mortality, and recruitment. Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are commonly aged using the lapilli otolith or the articular process of the pectoral spine. Many fisheries managers prefer to use pectoral spines because the process does not require the sacrifice of the fish, but this method may produce biased age estimates. To com- pare precision of the two methods, we used pectoral spines and lapilli otoliths to age 649 channel catfish collected from five...

Black bass (Micropterus spp.) are the most popular freshwater sportfishes in North America and are intensively managed. Successful management of fish populations relies on dependable age data for estimation of age determined population rate functions (growth, mortality, and recruit- ment). Otoliths provide accurate age estimates compared to most other aging structures, but otolith removal requires fish to be sacrificed, leading some fisheries managers to rely on alternative, non-lethal methods for estimating ages of fish. However, non-lethal aging structures may produce biased age...

White bass (Morone chrysops) are a popular sport fish native to the Mississippi River basin and widely introduced elsewhere. We examined population characteristics of this species in three systems (Kentucky Lake, Tennessee; Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Mississippi; and Grenada Lake, Mississippi) with different habitats and fishery characteristics to evaluate whether population dynamics varied sufficiently to require system-specific management. Using white bass collected from these three systems in 2019–2020, we tested two aging techniques and found sectioning of otoliths pro...

To enhance trophy potential of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fisheries, state agencies across the southeastern United States commonly stock Florida largemouth bass (FLMB, M. s. floridanus) outside of their native range into native northern largemouth bass (NLMB, M. s. sal- moides) populations. This practice has been ongoing for decades but spatial patterns associated with the spread of FLMB alleles in a reservoir after stocking are not well understood. From 2007–...

The Florida largemouth bass (FLMB; Micropterus salmoides floridanus) is widely stocked throughout the southeastern United States with the intent of increasing the size potential of resident northern largemouth bass (NLMB; M. s. salmoides) populations. During the early 2000s the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission initiated an eight-year FLMB stocking program on selected reaches of DeGray Lake and Lake Ouachita in an effort to sat- isfy angler preferences. The goal of this stocking program was to achieve 40% of sampled largemouth bass in each introduction zone...

In recent years, commercial paddlefish harvesters have renewed their requests for opening a potential commercial paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) season in Alabama reservoirs of the Tennessee River, including part of Pickwick Reservoir, all of Wilson and Wheeler reservoirs, and the majority of Guntersville Reservoir. These reservoirs of the Tennessee River once supported robust stocks of paddlefish; however, beginning in the 1940s overexploitation became evident as the number of paddlefish harvested declined. Because of this widespread overharvest, a commercial and recreational...