Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

<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

<em>Abstract</em>.—The Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Program was established in 1992 through the development of a partnership with all of the state, federal, and private organizations that hold an interest in improving the fisheries in Lake Havasu. As the 10-year program reached completion, the actual costs were half of the original estimate. Nonfederal sources provided more than 7 million dollars and the volunteer labor force contributed more than 170,000 h of service in the construction and placement of artificial structures. Angler satisfaction improved, even with a quadrupling of the angling pressure to the lake. Nearly 40 national and regional fishing tournaments returned Lake Havasu to their circuit schedule as a result of this program. The five recreational angling facilities provided free 24-h access to the lake for all ages and physical abilities. These facilities receive more than 80,000 angler use days per year. In addition to all of the sport fish activities, the program was able to re-establish populations of two federally listed endangered species of fish to the reservoir, ending a 20-year absence in the area. As a final accomplishment, the partnership signed a new memorandum of understanding that covers future coordinated maintenance and monitoring activities on the reservoir to sustain the benefits and document long-term results.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

<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

<em>Abstract</em>.—Although stunting is a fairly common phenomenon in fishes, confusion remains about underlying mechanisms and appropriate management strategies. Herein, I summarize current literature to provide a synthetic look at factors that can cause stunting and consider associated management strategies. First, I provide historical context by reviewing early literature, much of which is focused on density-dependent slow growth as the cause of stunting. A brief summary of more recent literature, however, suggests that stunting is often more complex than early investigations might indicate, and mechanisms such as early maturation and overexploitation of adults are considered. Because the bluegill <em>Lepomis macrochirus </em>is an extremely common reservoir species, a large body of literature related to its population size structure and associated management strategies is available. Therefore, I use bluegill as a model system to describe how various mechanisms might lead to stunting and indicate important considerations from a management standpoint. In the final section, I review management strategies and argue, among other things, that consistent language, clear identification of underlying mechanisms, and multifaceted management approaches are necessary for robust results when dealing with stunted populations.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

<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

<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

<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

<em>Abstract</em>.—The White River Fisheries Partnership (WRFP) was formed as an interstate and interagency partnership along the Missouri–Arkansas border beginning in 2001. Reservoir resource managers, interested in continuing efforts to enhance sport fish populations in the White River reservoirs, came together through the partnership as a natural extension of their earlier efforts to coordinate fisheries management in shared waters along the border. The partnership originally included representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Marine, Inc. and members of their professional angling staffs, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Southwestern Power Administration, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the Missouri Division of Tourism, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Other local and regional stakeholders have participated in the partnership as it has developed. The primary purpose of the WRFP has been to establish common and achievable objectives designed to enhance recreational fishing using opportunities developed through a federal, state, and private partnership. A common set of objectives and expectations has been developed and is presented in this paper. Communication between biological, technical, and administrative elements in each partnering organization has improved over the years. As public interests and expectations in regard to reservoirs and their tailwaters change over time, the partnering agencies will revisit strategies and adjust their efforts to address these changes. Multifaceted collaboration efforts such as the WRFP require time and long-term commitments from the partners if they are to continue to be successful and reach their established objectives.

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

<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

<em>Abstract</em>.—The Murray-Darling basin produces about 40% of the total value of Australia’s agricultural output from 1.9 million ha of irrigated agriculture that represents around 75% of the nation’s total irrigation. Major reservoirs in the southeastern states regulate the basin’s river systems for irrigation but also provide recreational fisheries. One of these storages is Lake Eppalock in the state of Victoria, a multi-use impoundment built in 1964 covering 3,230 ha and holding 312,000 ML at full supply level. It has been actively developed as a mixed species recreational fishery (golden perch <em>Macquaria ambigua </em>and Murray cod <em>Maccullochella peeli</em>) and is a popular angling water. The principal recreational target species in the lake compete with invasive pest species (common carp [also known as European carp] <em>Cyprinus carpio</em>). Drought is part of the natural variability of the Australian climate and its rainfall history features several periods of a decade or longer that have been distinctly drought-prone. Eastern Australia was in the eighth year of the latest drought cycle in 2007, and Lake Eppalock had fallen to less than 1% of its full supply level. These conditions highlighted increasing competition for water and brought into focus the interdependence and linkages between fisheries management and water needs, both for irrigation and for the environment. Fisheries managers faced a very strong likelihood of extensive fish deaths in the lake and elsewhere that could cause significant long-term impacts requiring many years to recover the recreational fishery. A planned partnership approach with the storage water authority was adopted in 2006 for integrated fisheries and water management, with response actions targeted to achieve storage conditions ensuring the maximum survivability of key recreational angling species in the lake through the drought. The framework for cooperation established in this study provides an example for future water allocation disputes.