Melvin T. Huish

Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) comprised 35.9% of the 92,823 trawl-caught fish at 8 stations in the vicinity of a power plant on the Cape Fear River estuary, North Carolina. Monthly length frequency determinations of trawl-caught spot showed the major size mode progressed from about 4 to 10 cm from April 1975 to December 1975. The highest catches per unit of effort during the 2-year study were in the intake canal of the power plant. Of 982 spot tagged in the intake canal, 161 were returned and 9.4% of these were impinged on intake screens. The rate of impingement was highest for those...

We sampled the fish community of 607-ha Lake Ellis Simon (Lake Ellis), North Carolina, from 1980 to 1983 with 6 types of gear. Several currently used fishery indices were calculated from the data and the values evaluated for classification of the fish community of Lake Ellis Simon. More of the 21 species recorded from the lake were taken by electrofishing and rotenone (18 and 17, respectively) than by the other methods. Electrofishing provided the largest catch per unit of effort. Standing crop estimates based on rotenone sampling were 51 kg/ha in 1981 and 78.7 kg/ha in 1983. About 91% of...

Data collected from rotenone samples of 3 coves before (1959-65) and after (1977) infestation by Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) were compared to document changes in the fish populations. Using the mean of the 3 areas for comparison, both weight and number per hectare increased after water-milfoil infestation. The average weight per individual decreased from 0.02 kg (1959-65) to 0.008 kg (1977). The species were separated into 7 groups. Six of the groups had higher mean numbers per hectare and all groups had higher mean weights per hectare. Multivariate analyses of variance...

Experiments to determine concentrations of toxaphene lethal to fishes in a variety of lake types and to discern selective fish-killing properties of the material were conducted. Concentrations ranging from 1 to 85 parts per billion were placed in fourteen bodies of water varying in size 200 from 0.5 to 2,100 acres. Vegetative cover varied from 0 to 95 percent, methyl orange alkalinity from 2 p.p.m. to 74 p.p.m., and hydrogen-ion concentrations from 5.1 to 9.5. Bottom types included gravel, sand, silt and mud. Differences in concentrations required to cause total kills of fish...

Determination of a desirable concentration of 5 percent emulsified rotenone in. a given lake to control gizzard shad was accomplished by an observational technique. The concentration employed varied from 0.06 p.p.m. to 0.14 p.p.m. The time of year considered best suited for treatment was during the fall. Methods used to apply the toxicant were varied but appeared about equal of results except while using spray planes. The most favorable results occurred when good distribution was secured by using six to twelve hours for application, numerous surface units and dilute mixtures. As many as 4...

Four experiments with 0.1 p.p.m. or less of 5 percent emulsified rotenone were conducted at Lake Beulah, Florida. Lake Beulah, an eighteen-acre lake with an average depth of 14.9 feet characteristically had a heavy plankton production. Estimated pounds of gizzard shad killed progressively declined during the four experiments although concentrations of rotenone were increased. The first kill was estimated at 23,455 pounds of shad; second kill, 7,976 pounds; third kill, 1,528 pounds; and fourth kill, 1,060 pounds. Small numbers of fish of other species were also killed. Length-...

A study of the life history of the black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus (LeSueur), from Lakes Eustis and Harris, Florida, was made in 1952 and 1953. A comparison of the age composition of the individual and combined samples of 318 Lake Eustis and 403 Lake Harris black crappie showed a similarity existed between the two populations. The scale reading indicated few crappie reached ttte VIII group or older in Lake Eustis and few reached the VII group or older in Harris. Males and females showed only minor differences in growth. Calculations of growth from scale measurements yielded the...

Results of four experiments on 5.5-acre Deer Island Lake demonstrated that selective poisoning was a practical method for reducing the gizzard shad population. Past haul seine efforts had effected only a temporary reduction in this lake. A concentration of 0.04 p.p.m. of 5 percent emulsified rotenone killed very few gizzard shad. A 0.1 p.p.m. concentration resulted in a conservatively calculated kill of 4,651 pounds or 846 pounds per surface acre. An application of 0.15 p.p.m. concentration killed larger shad as well as a few bass. A subsequent application of 0.1 p.p.m....

An investigation of the stomach contents of bluegill, black crappie, and redear sunfish was made from specimens collected during several months of 1948, 1949, and 1950, in Lake George, Florida. Major items found in stomachs of 432 large bluegills were: aquatic vegetation, crustacea, insecta, and fish eggs. Fifty-five stomachs from small bluegills contained, principally, Cladocera and Diptera larvae. Dorosoma petenensis vanhyningi (Weed) was the major food organism found in 145 black crappie. An analysis of 69 redear sunfish stomachs showed snails (Amnicola sp.) were the dominant food of...