Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Single Site ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Black Bass ◽  
Spotted Bass ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Population Effects ◽  
Water Uses ◽  
Negative Population

<em>Abstract</em>.—In Lake Martin (16,000 ha), Alabama, black bass <em>Micropterus </em>spp. tournaments occur nearly every weekend at a single site (Wind Creek State Park [WCSP]), which could cause fish to accumulate at this release site and potentially cause negative impacts to the population. Over a 7-month period, nearly 6,600 tour-nament-caught largemouth bass <em>M. salmoides </em>and spotted bass <em>M. punctulatus </em>were injected with a coded wire tag at different body locations before release at WCSP. After release, black bass were collected with electrofishing up to 1.5 years following release at 0–10 km from the release site and scanned for a tag. Although variable, a substantial proportion (10–70%) of tournament-caught black bass comprised the black bass population within 3 km of WCSP up to 3 months after release. After 3 months, proportions of tagged black bass within 10 km of WCSP decreased dramatically and by an order of magnitude after 1 year, which strongly suggested that these fish dispersed from WCSP. Over a 2- to 70-d period after release from a tournament, relative weights of tournament-released black bass were typically less than fish not released in tournaments. In addition, we collected and aged black bass throughout Lake Martin; relative weights of both black bass species were less and spotted bass growth was lower within 10 km of WCSP compared to other regions of Lake Martin. Even though black bass dispersed from the WCSP release site, these negative population effects were attributed to the constant translocation and accumulation of tournament-caught fish in this region of Lake Martin. In water bodies such as Lake Martin where mass translocation of black bass occurs annually at a single site, the use of live-release boats to transport tournament-caught black bass and the promotion and use of alternative release sites should be encouraged to reduce possible localized negative population effects.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Reservoir Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
River Systems ◽  
Interstate Disputes ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—Litigation regarding reservoir management is increasingly common. I used a range of examples in the United States to show that such litigation is generally ineffective and that most stakeholders can achieve better results through negotiated solutions. This article provides a brief introduction to this type of litigation and illustrates some of its basic limitations. Examples are drawn from several recent interstate disputes of the United States.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
River Systems ◽  
Public Pressure ◽  
Rearing Techniques ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—Thirteen United States fishery agencies utilized routine supplemental stocking as a means to manage largemouth bass <em>Micropterus salmoides </em>populations in large (>405-ha) reservoirs. State agencies stocking largemouth bass used two strains (i.e., northern and Florida) as well as intergrades. Largemouth bass for stocking were raised in hatcheries, lakeside nursery ponds, or both. Among states, methods used to monitor fish in hatchery ponds and lakeside nursery ponds, the date ponds were drained, and methods to enumerate fish from the ponds varied. Although most states cited bolstering weak year-classes as their main reason for routine stocking, others noted increasing genetic variability within populations and public pressure as reasons that their agencies stocked large reservoirs with largemouth bass. As agencies continue to respond to public pressures for larger fish, they should consider the possible consequences of mixing stocks of largemouth bass. With continued development of agency rearing techniques, especially in lakeside nursery ponds, methods to enumerate fish should be considered to aid in future stocking evaluations. Improved rearing and stocking techniques will allow fisheries managers to utilize resource dollars in a way that provides benefit to anglers while ensuring the sustainability of largemouth bass populations.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Behavioral Alterations ◽  
Western North Carolina ◽  
Boat Traffic ◽  
Fishing Behavior ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—We examined perceptions of and responses to crowding by boat anglers on hydropower and flood-control reservoirs in western North Carolina by reviewing angler opinion information obtained during year-long creel surveys conducted 1997–2006. Interview topics included subjective ratings of crowding on the day of interview, boating safety concerns, alterations to fishing trips due to crowding, types of behavioral alterations used to avoid crowding, and incidence of night fishing. Angler perceptions of crowding and resulting changes in fishing behavior were typically higher in warmer months and on reservoirs with greater fishing pressure. However, boat anglers on reservoirs with high fishing pressure but low nonfishing boat traffic reported fewer crowding concerns than on reservoirs with more diverse boating use. Spatial responses to crowding were reported on all waters and included fishing coves, diverting fishing trips to less-crowded reservoirs, and leaving the reservoir to avoid crowds. Temporal responses to crowding were more common on heavily used reservoirs and included fishing at night, avoiding weekends, and avoiding summer months. We recommend focusing access improvements on enhancements for off-season and night fishing, including improved access-area lighting and low-water ramps and docks.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Random Sample ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Largemouth Bass ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Sampling Frame ◽  
Slot Length ◽  
Water Uses ◽  
Conservation Ethic

<em>Abstract</em>.—Rates of voluntary release of legally harvestable largemouth bass <em>Micropterus salmoides </em>have increased over the past few decades, causing managers concern that this behavior is reducing the effectiveness of harvest restriction regulations. We conducted an angler survey to assess the degree to which Texas anglers practice voluntary release, their attitudes towards harvest and slot-length regulations, and factors that influence these attitudes and actions. Our sampling frame consisted of a random sample of general fishing license holders and anglers intercepted by creel surveys on reservoirs managed with a slot-length limit for largemouth bass. Seventy-one percent of largemouth bass anglers reported that they rarely or never harvest fish smaller than the slot. Concerns with contaminants, value of fish as food, or the influence of peers were not reported to be strong factors in their decision to release fish. Increases to the minimum size of the protected slot range or an increase in the daily bag were not effective incentives for harvest of small largemouth bass. Anglers intercepted on slot lakes appeared to have a better understanding of the rationale for slot-length limits and are more likely to harvest fish smaller than the slot. The propensity for general fishing license holders to release small largemouth bass appears to be motivated by a perceived conservation ethic. More anglers rely on friends, magazines, television, and Web sites than other informational sources. We believe these results can be used to enhance effectiveness of educational efforts to encourage angler harvest of largemouth bass smaller than protected slot-length ranges.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Cooling Tower ◽  
Clean Water Act ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
Aquatic Community ◽  
Thermal Output ◽  
Heated Effluent ◽  
Pollutant Discharge ◽  
Water Uses ◽  
Tower System

<em>Abstract</em>.—A multimetric reservoir bioassessment was conducted on Lake Sinclair, a 6,204-ha multipurpose impoundment in central Georgia in 2002. This bioassessment was the first application of such techniques on a reservoir in Georgia and was an integral component of a Clean Water Act Section 316(a) demonstration. Findings from this project were used to support a request for a thermal variance for the Plant Branch heated discharge. Plant Branch is an electric generating facility that withdraws water from Lake Sinclair for cooling purposes and discharges heated effluent to the reservoir under the authority of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. A new cooling tower system began operation in 2002 and was designed to remove approximately 50% of the thermal output from the plant during summer months. Subsequently, the bioassessment was conducted to determine if a balanced, indigenous aquatic community is protected and maintained in the thermally influenced portion of Lake Sinclair.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Predator Population ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarkii ◽  
Bear Lake ◽  
Bioenergetics Modeling ◽  
Diet Study ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—Strawberry Reservoir is Utah’s most important coldwater fishery, sustaining as many as 1.5 million angler-hours annually. Persistent problems with the introduced Utah chub <em>Gila atraria </em>have necessitated two reservoir-wide rotenone treatments. The most recent treatment in 1990 was the largest complete chemical treatment ever attempted to date. In an effort to avoid future rotenone treatments, the current management plan at Strawberry Reservoir includes the use of Bear Lake cutthroat trout <em>Oncorhynchus clarkii utah </em>as a biological controller of Utah chub populations. Gill netting studies, cutthroat population modeling, a year-long diet study, and bioenergetics modeling were used to assess the effectiveness of cutthroat predation in controlling Utah chub populations. Various fishing regulation scenarios have been utilized since the 1990 treatment in an attempt to produce the needed cutthroat predator population for Utah chub control. Earlier (1990–2002), more liberal cutthroat fishing regulations were not effective at creating the necessary predatory cutthroat population. Diet information indicated that large (>508 mm total length) cutthroat were effective predators on the chubs, and a slot limit on cutthroat was enacted in 2003 to produce these larger predators. The current slot limit has created a large population of cutthroat that is larger on average than have previously been documented in the reservoir. Since 2003, overall chub populations have decreased by 61%, and age-1 chubs have decreased by 97%. Diet studies and resulting bioenergetics analyses indicated that cutthroat were responsible for considerable predation pressure on these chubs. The Bear Lake cutthroat have proven to be effective predators on Utah chubs in Strawberry Reservoir, and their predation is likely the major factor in the recent declines in chub numbers. However, adequate protection from overharvest needed to be provided so that a large population of large cutthroat predators could be produced.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Fish Populations ◽  
River Systems ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Water Quality And Quantity ◽  
Water Uses ◽  
Chattahoochee River

<em>Abstract</em>.—The Upper Chattahoochee River (UCR) basin is typical of many river systems in the southeastern United States. A warmwater system with high biodiversity, the creation of impoundments for human water use has altered water quality and quantity and, in some reaches, converted it into a coldwater system. To recover lost fishing opportunities, nonnative trout (Salmonidae) were introduced into the system and a popular fishery developed. Recent drought, human population growth, and increased water use has resulted in changes in the fish populations and fisheries management objectives in the UCR basin. As water allocation discussions continue among the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, the future of the fishery in the UCR basin is unknown. This paper describes the changes in fisheries management in the UCR basin during the last century in relation to impoundment and increased water use in the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Relative Survival ◽  
Sport Fishery ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Index Ratio ◽  
Natural Recruitment ◽  
Water Uses ◽  
Adult Abundance

<em>Abstract</em>.—Walleyes <em>Sander vitreus </em>are commonly stocked into reservoirs across North America, but success of these stockings has been variable, and few stockings have been thoroughly evaluated. We examined six factors that may affect survival of small walleye fingerlings (25–50 mm total length) stocked into two large Missouri reservoirs: (1) initial health of stocked fish, (2) handling and transportation stress, (3) water temperature in transport and receiving waters, (4) prey abundance in receiving waters, (5) losses from predation, and (6) growth of stocked fish. Fingerlings were marked with oxytetracycline hydrochloride and stocked into Smithville and Stockton lakes in alternate years from 1998 to 2006, usually at a rate of 70–80 fish/ha. None of the measured survival factors was related to a relative survival index (ratio of the number of age-0 captured/h of October electrofishing to the number stocked/ha). We also assessed whether stockings increased age-0 and adult abundance and angler catch and harvest of walleyes. For stocking years, the majority of age-0 walleyes collected in October originated from stocking for both Smithville (63–100% marked, mean = 91%) and Stockton (62–100% marked, mean = 88%) lakes. Electrofishing catch of age-0 walleyes in October was higher in stocking than in nonstocking years. Following stocking, adult abundance and angler catch and harvest of walleyes increased. Fingerling stockings improved the sport fishery for walleyes in both lakes. However, stocking will have to continue to maintain the fisheries because natural recruitment of walleyes did not increase as a result of increased adult abundance.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Advisory Committees ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Flexible Management ◽  
Water Uses

<em>Abstract</em>.—Effective means to directly engage the public in determining reservoir fishery management objectives and strategies is a common challenge to managers. This paper examines the experiences and lessons acquired from three separate situations in which citizen advisory committees were used to assist fishery management biologists in resolving conflicts and setting management objectives for three lakes in Arkansas. Benefits included a better understanding on both the part of anglers and agency biologists of their respective motivations and preferences, a greater sense of shared ownership of solutions, and a well-defined but flexible management plan. The effectiveness of citizen advisory committees was challenged by dissent and mistrust among advisory committee members, failure of committee members to communicate management plans outside the committee proper, political intervention, and the threat to agency credibility if the agreed plans fail to be implemented. Citizen advisory committees can be an effective tool for crafting reservoir fishery management plans.

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