Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Through many years of participation, I have found that hunting and trapping furbearers offers some of the finest sport in the field of outdoor recreation. It can be enjoyed by almost any interested person. The resulting rewards are an invigorated spirit, mind and body and, at times, a handsome economic supplement. Consequently, all efforts should be directed to refine the taking offurbearers in the most ethical manner in order to enhance and perpetuate the fascinating sport.

Problems in communicating research results by means of professional meetings and conferences in the field ofwildlife science and management are discussed. Emphasis of discussion is placed on purpose and organization of meetings, facilitation of more rapid communication and use of research results, and alternate means of conducting meetings.

A state 4-H wildlife food plot contest entitled F.A.C.E. (Food And Cover Establishment) For Wildlife was started in Tennessee in 1972. The contest involves 4-H members planting perennial food and cover plots with 5 lb. seed packets furnished free by the Wildlife Resources Agency. The 4-H'ers are required to keep accurate records on their plots. Plots are judged at the county level by the county Extension Agent and the Wildlife Officer, at the regional level by the WRA Regional Farm Game Biologist and one other person from another agency, and at the state level by the Extension Wildlife Specialist and the WRA State Farm Game Biologist. Awards include ribbons, shoulder patches, and conservation magazine subscriptions at the county level, cash at the regional level, and cash and trophies at the state level. Data concerning the value of food plots to wildlife were gathered during judging, and from records kept by 4-H'ers.

The increasing need for a "specialized" Wildlife Officer to insure compliance with the multitude of complex State and Federal laws governing the exhibition, importation, exportation, propagation, and sale of wildlife and fresh water fish has prompted the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to establish the Wildlife Inspections Section. The regulation of these activities continues to pose obstacles to most state conservation agencies; therefore, this paper will identify Florida's methodology toward resolution of these issues through personnel and program specialization.

Law enforcement research is needed to provide better tools for detecting and prosecuting game law violations.

In spite ofthe fact that wild animal trapping has been an activity ofman since the dawn of civilization it has recently become the subject of heated and emotional controversy. This paper includes a brief history of the role that trapping has played in exploring and settling the wilderness areas ofAmerica. In addition, many ofthe present day problems and philosophies revolving around the capture of fur-bearing animals for profit are discussed. A summary of the Alabama Game and Fish Division's outlook on trapping- as a tool of wild animal management and protection is included, with some figures and statistics on furcatchers' license sales and trapping violations since 1919. The main point of view expressed in the paper is that fur-bearing animals are a natural resource that must be used and not wasted. Surplus animal populations have to be harvested in order to maintain a balance in today's delicate ecosystem.

The purpose of this paper is to show the results and the impact of the Texas Shrimp Conservation Act and the enforcement of shrimp laws in Texas. Enacted in 1959, it provides for open and closed seasons, sizes of shrimp, trawl and door sizes, licenses needed, and for the patrol and enforcement of the Act. It provides that all salt waters in Texas, wherever shrimp were found, would be patrolled both by aircraft and boat. This p!iper shows some ofthe problems experienced in the patrol activity, the type of boats and aircraft used, enforcement procedures and the results of these patrol activities on the Texas Coast from the year 1959 thru 1977.

A methodology for deciding how to deploy law enforcement personnel is proposed. A workload model is used. The methodology is consistent with the concept of management by objectives (MBO) and could serve as a focal point for achieving improved effectiveness in an enforcement division. Use of this model may require the creation of a statewide information system describing the geographical distribution of wildlife agent workload. Although primarily envisioned as an administrative decision aid at the statewide scale, the workload model could be integrated into deployment planning at the district and possibly county level. Major limitations of the model are that it is deterministic and assumes linear relationships among variables. Strategies developed by its application, however, would be superior to political criteria or pure administrative discretion.

MQnetary fines have been routinely assessed wildlife law violators for almost 2 centuries in the United States. Due to the humanizing of statutory law, sanctions for wildlife law violations have progressed from mutilation and deportation to monetary fines and short-term confinement. Misdemeanor case material compiled in recent years suggests that sanctions may have some deterrent effectwhen the certainty ofimposition is reasonably high. It is suggested that most wildlife law transgressions be referred to as "violations" and not "crimes." The ability to make conceptually feasible and statistically valid statements about hypothesized relationships between violation rates, certainty of apprehension, and severity of sanctions will ultimately depend on each agency's willingness to develop a program of planned research.

Data gathered by Morse in 1968, 1972, and 1976 surveys of state enforcement divisions were subjected to correlation and multiple regression analysis. Correlation analysis resulted in 75 significant (PS 0.05) correlations between pairs of enforcement variables. Man-years offisheries and wildlife law enforcement was the most frequently occurring variable in the 75 bivariate correlations. Multiple regression analysis was used to gain insight into the relative strength of the relationships between proposed independent variables and a dependent variable (either arrests or arrests per 1,000 licenses) in 6 regression models. A Uniform Recording and Reporting System and an annual survey of law enforcement divisions would make law enforcement data more amenable to statistical analysis.

An ll-question wildlife law enforcement objectives questionnaire was mailed to all state enforcement divisions during January 1977. Five follow-up reminders mailed at approximately 2-wk. intervals resulted in the return ofquestionnaires from 45 divisions. Twenty-seven of 45 states reported having explicit, written objectives; 7 ofthe 18 states without objectives reported they did not anticipate formulating objectives. Fifteen of the 27 states reporting objectives also reported having 1 or more objectives with associated measurement criteria. Eight of the 15 states reporting 1 or more objectives with criteria listed 1 or more measurement criteria for each objective. Ofthe 157 objectives listed collectively by the 27 states, measurement criteria existed for 50 of the objectives. Twelve states reported they had ranked the importance of their objectives.

An 11-question wildlife law enforcement objectives questionnaire was mailed to all state enforcement divisions during January 1977. Five follow-up reminders mailed at approximately 2-wk. intervals resulted in the return ofquestionnaires from 45 divisions. Twenty-seven of 45 states reported having explicit, written objectives; 7 ofthe 18 states without objectives reported they did not anticipate formulating objectives. Fifteen of the 27 states reporting objectives also reported having 1 or more objectives with associated measurement criteria. Eight of the 15 states reporting 1 or more objectives with criteria listed 1 or more measurement criteria for each objective. Ofthe 157 objectives listed collectively by the 27 states, measurement criteria existed for 50 of the objectives. Twelve states reported they had ranked the importance of their objectives.

Review of the status of chemicals used in fisheries indicates that many lack proper registrations. Regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration require that all existing registrations be reviewed and reregistered by October 1977. Adequate data to support reregistration are lacking for some of the most widely used chemicals. Applications of unregistered compounds are strictly prohibited under penalty oflaw. Cancellation of existing registrations. high costs of research, high manpower requirements, and the long time required to complete adequate research contribute to a situation in which fishery workers may be deprived ofneeded management tools. All phases of fishery management are directly affected. The loss of therapeutants, anesthetics, herbicides, and piscicides will be reflected in lower hatchery production, fish of poorer quality, --and increased costs. Survival of fish that are in poor health when stocked will be reduced.

Texas has 37 man-made reservoirs used to cool electro-power plants and several more are in the construction and/or planning phases. Managing the sport fishery in these reservoirs is difficult because temperate predators are unable to compete with overabundant rough fish populations characteristic in the warmed water of these impoundments. Nile perch (Lates sp.) and peacock bass (Cichla temensis) are two tropical predators under investigation for possible introduction into power plant reservoirs. Small stocks of these fishes are being maintained in closed-recirculation systems at the Heart of the Hills Fisheries Research Station, Ingram, Texas. Fishes will be reared to sexual maturity, spawned, and the young used in temperature and salinity tolerance tests. Information gained in these tests will playa significant role in the selection ofstudy reservoirs.

The feeding activity of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) significantly reduced the final biomass of submerged plants in Missouri ponds. Water quality was improved; total alkalinity and pH were sustained at levels more suitable for productivity. Nocturnal oxygen depletion was less severe. and noxious phytoplankton blooms did not develop in ponds stocked with grass carp. Grass carp had no significant effect on abundance of glass shrimp (Palaemonetes kadiakensis); bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) had a much greater negative effect. In six of eight ponds with grass carp the densities of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelasl were greater than in any control pond. Young bluegills were significantly more abundant in ponds with grass carp. Bluegill growth was negatively correlated with bluegill density, but not with grass carp biomass. Average total apparent fish production was 270% greater in ponds with grass carp than in control ponds.

Florida largemouth bass, Micropterus salrnoides floridanus (Le Sueur), northern largemouth bass, M.s. salrnoides (Lacepede), and their F1 hybrid were stocked in a 3. 64-hectare pond, and their growth rates and catchability compared. The hybrid and Florida bass were found to achieve the best growth over a 3-yr period, apparently due to genetic influences rather than environmental factors. Differences in catchability were not observed among the three strains oflargemouth bass.

The purpose of this study was to observe growth, survival, and spatial distribution of the Florida largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus) and of the northern subspecies (M. s. salmoides) in an Oklahoma reservoir thermally enriched by a heated effluent from an electrical generating plant. Hatchery-reared fingerlings of both subspecies were stocked in 1974 and 1975 after they were marked with either fluorescent pigments sprayed into the dennis, or, with magnetized metal injected into the nasal cartilage. Growth of the Florida subspecies was greater than that of the northern subspecies in both years of the study, but the difference was significant only in 1975. Overwinter survival of Florida bass was lower than that of northern bass in both years, and was especially low (1.6%) during the winter of 1974-75, when lake temperatures were lower than during the winter of 1975-76.

Scales and otoliths of the white grunt, Haemulon plumieri, sampled from the North Carolina and South Carolina headboat fishery were examined to determine if they could be used to age the species. Both structures were satisfactory, 76% of the fish examined could be aged by scales and approximately the same percentage by otoliths. Agreement for a given age between otoliths and scales taken from the same fish was 75%. The oldest fish collected was XIII; 589 mm total length. Growth occurred from about mid-March to November. Back-calculated mean lengths ranged from 97mm at end ofyear 1 to 550 at end of year 13. The Bertalanffy equation describing theoretical growth in length is: It = 640 (l e- O.1084 (r + 1.0(7»). Total mortality estimates, based on catch curves from over 5,000 fish, ranged from 37% to 51% varying between years and geographical area. The length-weight relationship is described by the equation W =O. 00001426L'0220; W =O. ooooI201U·0'"' for males, and W =O.