S. Henderson

A survey of previous Arkansas fish farmer certificate holders was conducted during 1978-79 through the use of renewal questionnaires, telephone conversations, and personal contacts. This survey was compared to similar surveys from preceding years. Approximately 65.3 percent of the 13,540 intensively farmed hectares in 1978-79 was devoted to the production of bait fish, while 28.1 percent was utilized in food fish production. Total area in bait fish production has remained virtually unchanged since 1975-76, but the value of the bait fish industry has increased by 7.0 percent. A 30.8 percent...

The 1978-79 survey of Arkansas' wild commercial fishery was compared to a previous 1977-78 survey. A tremendous increase in the commercial fishery industry has occurred since mid 1977. The 1978-79 commercial fishery harvest of 8,320,774 kg valued at $4,923,259 represents a probable all time high for the industry. Large increases in the number of licensed commercial fishermen and their gear were also documented for 1978-79. Catch per unit effort values were reported for the various gear types from each watershed.