Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Since 1966,1 a study has been conducted in earthen ponds of the Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama, to evaluate the potential of suspended cages for culturing catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), from fingerlings to marketable size, and to develop the basic techniques necessary for the extension of the culture. This paper presents the developments obtained in the study. Experiments on effects of stocking density per volume of cage, cage positioning relative to the environment and to other cages, and cage mesh size on production are discussed. Observations on feeding behavior, feeding enclosures, feed efficiency, cage materials, cage covers, parasites and disease and other aspects of cage culture are discussed to a limited extent. Stocking densities tested ranged up to 500 fish per mS of cage. The highest standing crop produced was 421 lb. per mS cage stocked with 500 fish. In a 40-day period these fish grew from a mean weight of 0.43 lb.

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of stomach contents of 263 white bass (Roccus chrysops) taken from Beaver Reservoir and its tributaries between February 1, 1969 and June 30, 1969 are reported. Fish are classified as pre, mid, and post-spawners based on their migrations into and out of the spawning areas. Stomach contents of white bass are enumerated by frequency occurrence, volumetric and gravimetric methods. Significant differences in the food habits were found between the different periods.

Croaker, Micropogon undulatus, were stocked in 6 ponds in 1966 and again in 6 ponds in 1968 to determine general desirability for pond culture in brackish water. Growth and survival was low both years. In the fall, when ponds were drained, fish were about one year old; both males and females were ripe. Stomach analyses revealed that croaker preferred grass shrimp, Palaemonetes sp. (78.4 per cent occurrence) to fish (13.3 per cent occurrence). The condition index, using total length, was 1.36, while the length-weight relationship was log W =-5.2498 + (3.1652) (log L).

The river redhorse, Moxostoma carinatum (Cope), is a Catostomid fish of east-central North America. In rivers where it is common, the river redhorse frequently affords a sport fishery, especially during its spawning period. During the period July, 1966, to July, 1968, 339 river redhorse were collected from the Cahaba River, Alabama. Scales from 183 of these specimens were aged and back calculated. An additional 52 pondreared specimens were utilized for scalation and length-weight studies. Length-weight equations were computed. Female river redhorse were significantly heavier than males throughout the data ranges studied. Male river redhorse from the Cahaba River were greater in length at age groups I, II, III, and IV than were females. Specimens from the Duck River, Tennessee, grew more slowly than those from the Cahaba River although larger sizes were reached in Duck River.

A comparison study was made to determine the effects of temperature upon the percent hatch of striped bass eggs and upon fry survival. No significant difference for percent hatch was found at incubation temperatures between 60°F. and 75°F. at 5° increments. Temperature shock between 65°F. and higher temperatures appears to have a more deleterious effect on freshly fertilized eggs than eggs incubated for 16 or 44 hours at 65°F. before transfer to the same higher test temperatures. Fry produced at 65°F. and transferred to the various test temperatures two days after hatching showed an apparent difference in survival as temperatures exceeded 65°F. A significant difference in fry survival was observed only for those eggs hatched at the various test temperatures and then exposed to 80°F. temperature.

Monthly insecticide tests on waters from two Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Oxbow Lakes show DDT levels to be highest in winter and spring months. Comparison of insecticide levels in Wolf Lake and Mossy Lake waters, muds, and fish flesh show consistantly higher levels in Wolf Lake. Thirty-six hour bluegill bioassays in endrin show TLm value of Wolf Lake fish twenty fold greater than Mossy Lake fish. Two hundred thousand largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fingerlings placed in Wolf Lake May 16-25, 1968 showed no survival upon repeated checks with :14" mesh seine, electrical fish shocker, and two one-acre population studies. Monthly comparisons of pH, D.O., Free CO2 , total hardness, methyl orange alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, ortho-phosphate, plankton counts, and benthic samples failed to account for the decline in carnivorous fish species in Wolf Lake and the inability to re-establish a largemouth bass population.

The results of a 1965-66 study of the physico-chemical factors, benthic macroinvertebrates, plankton, and fishes of three cold tailwaters (Bull Shoals, Norfork and Beaver) were published in the Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners by Brown, Liston, and Dennie (1967). The data presented here are an extension of this work and compare the macroinvertebrates of two natural streams (Buffalo and Kings rivers), two old tailwaters (Bull Shoals and Norfork), and a new tailwater (Beaver, impounded in 1963). The dominant groups of benthic macroinvertebrates in the older tailwaters, Bull Shoals and Norfolk, were Isopoda, Chironomidae, Amphipoda, and Oligochaeta. The 1967-68 data show that the Beaver Tailwater just below the dam had fewer organisms per square foot than comparable stations below the older Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters and the same stations on the Beaver tailwater during the 1965-66 study.

This paper reports upon brackish water impoundment studies conducted in the coastal marshes of Southwest Louisiana with a valued Louisiana delicacy, the red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarki. Survival, growth and reproduction were recorded in an attempt to better evaluate the potential of Louisiana's brackish coastal areas for crawfish culture. The initial field experiments were begun in 1967, with the stocking and management of an experimental 5.6 acre pond at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge using the commonly accepted management techniques. Crawfish samples were taken and recorded from the study area throughout the season. Records were maintained of water pH, temperature and salinity. Soil and water analyses were made prior to draining in 1969. Vegetation types were identified and recorded before inundation and approximately two weeks after draining in an effort to determine the types of food and cover available.

This study, using smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieui LacepMe, was a field test of a new method of permanently mass-marking fishes. This method consists of producing fish by means of rapid or prolonged growth whose scales have a significantly larger focus to first annulus distance than fish native to a stream chosen for stocking. In October, 1965, 322 young-of-the-year bass, that had been raised either in laboratory aquaria or a hatchery pond, were stocked in three headwater streams of Northwest Arkansas. Recapture attempts in June, 1966, yielded seven scale-marked bass from two of the three streams stocked, indicating the feasibility of this marking technique for certain types of field use.

Tilapia aurea, blue tilapia (Smith-Vaniz, 1968) were brought to Florida in 1961. Verification of this species in Lake Parker occurred five years later. Since this time, they have reached a concentration which provides a unique fishery. Parker, a 2,291 acre lake located in Lakeland, Florida, was creeled for a year to determine fisherman utilization of blue tilapia. Harvest by baited hook was significant only three months of the period. This species comprised over 40 per cent of the total harvest six months of the year, after legalization of cast netting and snatch hooking. Success by these methods was correlated with two, seasonal factors; spring spawning activity and warm water outflow from an electrical power plant in winter months. This does not indicate that 'Pilapia aurea is an additional sport fishery, but rather a food fish that can be significantly harvested only by special methods.

Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the effect of salinity on growth and survival of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Three-day old or older eggs tolerated up to 16 ppt total salinity. However, at the time of hatching there was a sharp drop in tolerance to about 8 ppt. This level of tolerance was maintained during the period of yolk absorption. Following yolk absorption there was an increase in tolerance to about 9 or 10 ppt. By five months of age tolerance had increased to 11 ppt and to 12 ppt by six months. The level of tolerance was about the same at 11-14 months. Nine days acclimation to 5 ppt increased growth and food conversion slightly but did not increase survival. Forty days of acclimation to 5 ppt increased tolerance about 0.5 ppt. Fish failed to maintain themselves at salinities greater than 12 ppt, even with extended acclimation to 10 ppt salinity.

During the period July 1, 1964 to June 31, 1968, a total of 300 cases was received for diagnosis at the Southeastern Cooperative Fish Disease Laboratory at Auburn University. Ninety of the cases (30%) were determined to be caused by parasites, 104 cases (34.7%) were determined to be caused by bacteria or viruses. The remainder of the cases were routine prestocking checks, kills due to factors other than disease producing organisms, or undetermined cases due to unsuitable specimens for diagnosis or lack of data. A detailed breakdown of the cases is given including seasonal occurrence, prevalent organisms associated with epizootics, and environmental factors associated with epizootics when known.

Contamination of the Peace River with 1,500 acre feet of phosphate mine waste (montmorillonite clay) resulted in heavy mortality of stream fauna. The estimated kill of fishes exceeded 90% of the fish population in 76 miles of stream. Losses of macroinvertebrates were heavy or complete for all taxonomic groups, except oligochaetes and tendipedid larvae. Excessive clay turbidity was determined as the cause of kill. Lethal concentrations of suspended particles was short term and within 9 days stream water quality returned to normal. Recovery of stream fauna was monitored for a 15 month period. Data is presented concerning recovery rates for fish species, invertebrates, and degradation effects on stream habitat. A monetary settlement was obtained from the responsible party in the amount of $200,000.00.

Eighteen O.l-acre ponds at the Auburn University Fisheries Research Unit, Auburn, Alabama, were used from April 5 through November 20, 1967. Both species of fishes were stocked together randomly at a rate of 4,000 fingerlings per acre. The experimental design consisted of three control ponds without fertilization or hyacinths; three control ponds without fertilization, but with hyacincths; three ponds with 0-8-0 (N,P,K) fertilization, but no hyacinths; three ponds with 0-8-0 fertilization, but with hyacinths; three ponds with 8-8-0 fertilization, but no hyacinths; and three ponds with 8-8-0 fertilization, but with hyacinths. The fertilizers were applied to stimulate the growth of hyacinths and fish-pond organisms. Greater numbers and dry weights of fish-food organisms were associated with roots of water hyacinths in control ponds than in fertilized ponds. Snails and odonate numphs were dominant in control ponds but were not important in fertilized ponds.

Intensive agricultural endeavor and accompanying environmental degradation have virtually eliminated the native fishery of eastern Arkansas' delta regions. Unsatisfied public demands for outdoor recreation have, of course, increased as corresponding opportunities have been reduced. The fisheries management biologist in eastern Arkansas is faced with a multitude of perplexing management problems which in many respects are unique to the heavily farmed regions of southeastern United States. Managed lakes and impoundments in northeast Arkansas will fall, generally, into one of three categories or classifications: I. Ridge or foothill impoundment which receive surface runoff from a primarily timbered or pastured watershed (little or no row crop farming in the watershed). The soils of the watersheds of these lakes fall within the Loessial Hills Association and, to a lesser extent, the Ozark Highlands Association. II.

Adult threadfin shad, Dorosoma petenense (Gunther), were stocked alone in ponds at rates from 100 to 1,600 per acre to determine the most efficient rate of stocking for maximum production. Total production varied from 84.5 to 290.0 pounds per acre while net production ranged from 36.4 to 169.0 pounds per acre. The number of young per surviving parent varied from 1,392 at a stocking rate of 100 adults per acre to 82 young at a stocking rate of 1,600 adults per acre. Threadfin shad stocked in April spawned from May (76°F) through August. The net production of threadfin and gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum (LeSueur) stocked at 200 per acre was 70.0 and 85.5 pounds per acre, respectively. Gizzard shad spawned 2 months before the threadfin and both species grew at the same rate. Threadfin shad stocked together with other species gave varying results.

Stream fluctuations strongly influenced the biotic populations of three Colorado trout streams during a three year water quality study conducted on the streams. Extreme water fluctuations (94% variation in surface area), combined with stream bedload accumulations, reduced a productive trout water to a non-productive series of intermittent pools during the course of the study. One study station produced the highest consistent production of benthos and the largest standing crops of trout in numbers. According to weight, however, the same station produced the fourth largest standing crops of trout. The discrepancy was attributed primarily to adverse feeding conditions for trout; a result of stream flow reductions during summer months. Rapid reductions in stream flow produced an abnormal concentration of benthos at another station, followed by a rapid decline in the benthos population within a two week period.

The first phase of a study to determine the potential of otter trawls as commercial fishing gear in the warmwater reservoir was investigated. The research was conducted on Wheeler Reservoir, Alabama, during September, October and December, 1967. Two 37-foot and two 45-foot otter trawls constructed from three designs were investigated utilizing a systematic sampling schedule in which direction, speed and duration of tow, and length of warp were randomly selected. Two areas of Wheeler Reservoir, an expanse of open water in the main body and two smaller areas in the Elk River arm, were designated as study sites and were sampled at all hours of the day. A total of 232 tows which harvested 5259 pounds of fish were made with the research vessel DAKWA. Of this catch, 237 pounds or 4.5 percent were classified as game fish. The commercial catch was comprised primarily of gizzard and threadfin shad. The 37-foot, semi-balloon trawl was the most efficient during the investigation.

A study was undertaken during the period of 1962-65 to determine the minimum acreage of water which can produce and sustain a balanced largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede), Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, and redear sunfish, Lepomis microlophus (Gunther), population. Thirty-three ponds ranging from 0.17 to 0.25 acre and which contained no fish were selected in North Alabama during 1962-63. The ponds were stocked by the State Fish Hatchery during the 1962-63 season. Suggestions that would aid in the management of a pond to obtain the maximum production of fish were offered to each pond owner. Balance checks were conducted on these ponds during the first and second year of fishing. These checks on 30 usable ponds the first year indicated that 16 ponds contained a balanced fish population. Seven ponds contained a crowded bluegill population, and 7 ponds were crowded by competitive species.

Channel and white catfish fingerlings, stocked in ponds with largemouth bass at densities of 2,000 to 3,000 catfish per acre separately or in combination and given daily feeding have continued to provide excellent sport fishing. Four-inch fingerling catfish stocked by February and given supplemental feeding at rates of 2 to 3 percent body weight daily reached harvestable size of 0.7 lb. by October at which time the ponds were opened to fishing. Harvest by fishermen in ponds stocked with 2,000 catfish per acre ranged up to 1,292 pounds catfish per acre during a 12-month period following initial opening. When 7-11 inch channel catfish fingerlings were stock by February at the rate of 3,000 per acre, along with largemouth bass, the catfish reached 0.7 pound average weight by August. During the periods August 1 to October 25 and March 15 to September 7, 1,096 fishermen caught 2,655 pounds catfish per acre.

The Roanoke bass, Ambloplites cavifrons, was described by Cope in 1867 seemingly from a single three-inch specimen recovered from the Roanoke River in Montgomery County, Virginia. Subsequent literature indicates the species remained unrecognized in North Carolna until 1963 when encountered in Fishing Creek during a survey and inventory of the Tar River Basin. Inquiry among local anglers and Wildlife Protectors has revealed this fish apparently is taken by rod-and-reel fishing in small-to-moderate numbers from several diverse streams of both the Tar River Basin and the Neuse River Basin. The Roanoke bass-known locally in North Carolina as "Red-eye Bass", "Red-eye chub", or "Red perch"-is very popular and, seasonally, is much sought by anglers who know where, and how, to fish for it. Sixty-nine wild, adult Roanoke bass have been captured since field work was initiated July 1, 1967-47 in wire traps (catfish baskets), 18 by angling, 3 in fyke nets, and 1 with cresol.

The history of the "nursery' area concept in fisheries management dates back several years and includes varying techniques including fencing of a shallow bay of a reservoir to protect fish on their spawning grounds, utilizing sloughs adjacent to reservoirs for spawning grounds and making use of sloughs, old river lakes and small ponds as nursery areas for young fishes which during high water migrate into the river. One of the most recent modifications which has been put into effect on five of the major reservoirs in Arkansas includes a separate structure nursery pond which is built adjacent to the receiving reservoir and connected only by a manually operated gate and drainage canal system. This type nursery pond has a sizeable watershed to permit annual refilling but one that is not too extensive to cause frequent flushing of fertility from the pond.

This study completes a segment of a project to evaluate the use of anhydrous ammonia as a fisheries management technique in small impoundments. Objectives were to determine the feasibility of using anhydrous ammonia for fish eradication, for pond fertilization, and for vegetation control. Treatments in 15 pounds in Central Texas indicate that anhydrous ammonia fulfills these objectives. Anhydrous ammonia was selected because of known toxicity to fishes and because ammonia is a naturally occurring compound. Thus, the use of anhydrous ammonia as a total or selective population control agent will not leave a persistent nondegradable residue in a pond. Treatment rates varied from 13 to 40 ppm of anhydrous ammonia. Higher treatment rates caused total kills while lower treatment rates appeared selective for certain species. Phytoplankton and zooplankton populations were decimated and recovered slowly.

The commercial fishery on four Oklahoma lakes (Eufaula, Gibson, Grand and Texoma) from which approximately 85 percent of the total state commercial harvest is landed was studied from July 1967 through June 1968. Thirty to forty-eight fishermen fished gill and trammel nets throughout the study period. Legal restrictions limited gear to 3 inch and larger bar mesh. The amount of fishing effort expended by mesh size and lakes was studied. Approximately 70 percent of the total effort was fished with 3 and 3% inch bar-mesh nets. On the lakes studied, approximately 50 percent of the effort was fished on Lake Texoma. Monthly and yearly percent catch composition was determined and the average lengths, weights and condition factors for the fish harvested were computed. The catch was primarily composed of buffalo, flathead catfish, and carp with average weights of individual fish landed being 5.3, 5.0, and 7.5 pounds, respectively.

Bluegill and redbreast populations were sampled by electric shocking techniques from two normal areas and an area affected by the heated discharge of a power generation plant at Lake Sinclair, Georgia. Growth of the fish was derived by the Lea method from measurements of the distance between the last formed annulus to the edge of the scale. By comparison of the study areas, temperature was found not to be the controlling factor of bluegill and redbreast growth in the discharge area.

Each spring and early summer the Corps of Engineers and the associated conservation agencies of the various states work together to program and operate the Corps' reservoir levels so that a minimal alteration of environment will occur during the spawning period of game fish in these reservoirs. The demands of flood control, navigation, hydro-electric power and fisheries resources must be coordinated to produce a condition in which these varied interests are working together to produce the required results to the benefit of all. Communications between all involved agencies during the time of gamefish spawning, and notification of operational procedures is the major contributor to failure or success at this time. Public awareness of the problems involved as well as the action being taken by all agencies decreases the usual rash of complaints against both the conservation agencies and the Corps of Engineers.

A total of 8525 striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum), were tagged and released in Virginia during 1968 and 1969. Releases were grouped in three periods: (1) 3195 in winter 1968, (2) 2439 during summer-fall 1968; and (3) 2891 in winter 1969. Streamer disc tags, employed in winter 1968, were subsequently replaced by internal anchor tags (Floy Tag No. FD-67). This substitution shortened application time and eliminated a source of bias intrOduced by the entanglement of disc tags in gill nets. Releases were made in the James, York, and Rappahannock rivers in all three periods. Rewards of one dollar have been paid for return of tags. Percentages of returns within tagged year-classes increased with age, indicating change in fishing mortality rates of striped bass during their initial 3 to 4-year residence in the lower Chesapeake Bay system. The older the pre-migrating tagged fish, the more likely its recapture.

Experimental culture of striped bass in Oklahoma State Fish Hatcheries was initiated in 1965. This work has resulted in several procedural guidelines which will enable the successful production of striped bass. The application of these guidelines to production on Oklahoma's antiquated State Fish Hatchery System is discussed. Factors which have influenced the application of desired methods on three State fish hatcheries are: Availability of sufficient water; fertility of ponds; aquatic vegetation; availability of equipment and supplies; quality of hatchery personnel; climate; amount and suitability of harvest equipment. These factors are discussed in relation to the 1969 rearing season.

Hidden Valley Lake is an acid water, shallow trout impoundment located in southwest Virginia at an elevation of approximately 3,600 feet above sea level. Renovation of the dam and outlet structures and fish management procedures are discussed. Subsurface water temperatures and dissolved oxygen values were obtained during the summers of 1965 and 1966. These are discussed in relation to an aeration system installed during the fall of 1965. No definite conclusions concerning beneficial effects on the fishery were arrived at; although dissolved oxygen in bottom waters was higher during the summer in which the aeration system was in operation. The aeration did appear to be effective in removing ice from around the outlet tower. Rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis brown trout, Salmo trutta were introduced into the lake. Brook trout appeared to achieve a better growth rate than either of the other two species.

A detailed description of the procedure used in taking stream bottom samples follows a description of the stream square foot bottom sampler, which, although pictured in a publication by the author in 1937, was not described in detail in any publication. One of the principal problems in retrieving bottom animals from samples is getting them quickly from the gravel without damaging them. Large stones in the sample area are removed first and placed in a pail half-filled with water. The contents of the net are also emptied carefully into the same pail. Upon reaching the shore, the pail is filled with water. After washing and removal of the large stones which are placed where animals crawling from hiding places on them can be retrieved, a series of decantations are made into a U. S. Series No. 30 soil sieve 8 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep held in water above the screen surface.

Brackish water pond studies were conducted in coastal Southwest Louisiana with blue, lctalurus furcatus, channel, lctalurus punctatus, and white catfish, lctalurus catus, to determine if these freshwater species could be cultured in saline ponds. The channel and white catfish proved to be the most rapid growing and the most hardy, averaging 0.80 and 0.70 pounds. The blue catfish averaged 0.6 pound. The channel catfish had the lowest S-value of 2.3, the white catfish had a S-value of 2.9 and the blue catfish had as-value of 4.0. Survival was highest for channel catfish, 91 per cent, and lowest for the blue catfish, 69.6 per cent. The condition indexes, using standard length, calculated for the white, channel and blue catfish were 2.15, 1.70 and 1.49, respectively. Blue and channel catfish collected from surrounding waters had K values slightly less.

Bottom soil samples were taken after each draining during a five-year period from a series of 12 small earthen ponds ranging in size from 0.70 to 1.39 acres. Except in one pond, drainings occurred one or more times annually. The ponds were used to produce one or more crops of fingerling fish each year. Species cultured were largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish and redeal' sunfish. Chemical analyses for pH, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, carbon and nitrogen were done on each sample. All ponds except one were fertilized and supplemental feeding was done on a limited scale in some of the ponds. The quality of the water supply was a significant influence for modification of the parameters included, with artificial enrichment also appearing to exert an important effect. Generally, the soils became more alkaline and richer in calcium.

The effects of soil and water hardness on growth and survival of red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarki, were studied in plastic pools. Pools had no soil or Calhoun soil, with water hardnesses adjusted with calcium chloride to 9, 50, 100 or 150 parts per million, or pools had Sharkey soil with water hardnesses of 50, 100, 150 or 200 ppm. Water hardness was the most significant factor affecting growth and survival of crawfish. As water hardness increased, so did the mean weight gain and per cent survival. At 9 ppm water hardness, the presence of soil resulted in similar weight gain per crawfish as in no-soil pools but crawfish survival in pools containing soil was 53 to 77 per cent and only 9 per cent in pools with no soil. Good growth of crawfish occurred in the absence of soil, if water hardness was high. The highest mean weight gain per crawfish and per cent survival were in pools containing Sharkey soil.

Biological and chemical-physical data were obtained from burrows of the red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarki, and the adjacent ponds and ditch during the burrowing period. Burrows constructed by mature and immature crawfish were of the same general pattern. Burrows usually consisted of an undulating downward channel, varying in depth, devoid of a connection with the adjacent pond or ditch. The tunnel was covered by a chimney or mud plug at the top and was enlarged at its deepest part into a chamber. Variance in the diameter of the channel seemed correlated with the total bodylength of the inhabiting crawfish. Fauna present in burrow water consisted mainly of planktonic crustaceans. In general, the animal groups in burrows were similar to those present in the adjacent pond or ditch but fewer species and numbers occurred in the burrows.

Florida has comparatively few species of large predatory freshwater fishes. Many lakes of the state have an abundance of forage fishes. Therefore, niches may be available for additional desirable predatory species. As far as I know, there is no record of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) occurring naturally as far south as peninsular Florida. People not familiar with walleye may have the mistaken impression they require cold, deep water. If this were so, an attempt to introduce them into Florida would be absurd. However, there is a strong superficial resemblance between many lakes there and warm, shallow Midwestern lakes that have good walleye populations. Because of this resemblance, I decided to see if walleye could survive in Florida. Permission was obtained to use a privately owned, dug pond, about 0.3-acre in size at Vero Beach, Florida (latitude 27 0 39'). Rotenone was applied for a complete kill, but no fish were found.