Largemouth Bass Annual
Exploitation in Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas as
Determined by a Tag-Reward Study
D. Colton Dennis*
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission P.O. Box 110 Camden, AR 71711,
Phone # (870) 836-4612 Ext.11; Fax # (870) 836-6508; e-mail cdennis@agfc.state.ar.us
Steve Lochmann
Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries University of Arkansas
at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601 Phone # (870) 543-8165; Fax
# (870) 543-8124; e-mail slochmann@uaex.edu
Currently, there is a concern with an apparent lack of largemouth
bass (Micropterus salmoides) exceeding 51 cm or 2.27 kg in
Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge (FNWR) reservoir, a 15,000-acre
impoundment in south central Arkansas. Refuge anglers have reported
annual fish die-offs during the summer months. Analysis of
electrofishing data revealed that RSD-P was at the low end of the
acceptable range and tournament data indicated a recent decrease in
the number of tournaments in which the largest bass was greater than
2.27 kg. During November 1997, a 1-year tag-reward study was initiated
in FNWR reservoir to quantify exploitation. A total of 519 bass were
captured, tagged with a small, PDB-type Hallprint dart tag, and
released. The annual exploitation rate was adjusted for tagging
mortality, tag loss, and non-reporting of tagged fish. Anglers
harvested a high percentage (76%) of tagged largemouth bass. This was
reflected in an annual exploitation rate (u) of 46%. Total annual
mortality (A) is being calculated based on cove rotenone and
electrofishing data in FNWR. Using this data, we will compare the
criteria for implementing a regulation change based on the Arkansas
Largemouth Bass Management Plan and MOCPOP.
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