SEAN D. FINLEY, IAN M. KLEIN, AND GENE R. WILDE, Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409, USA

During 1996, we studied the distribution and abundance of paddlefish Polyodon spathula in the Lower Neches River, Texas, to help assess potential affects of temporary saltwater barriers on paddlefish populations. These barriers are installed on the Neches River about once every 10 years and are used to prevent saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico from moving upstream into water intake structures operated by the Lower Neches Valley Authority. Based on gill net catches and ultrasonic telemetry results for 51 tagged fish, paddlefish are localized in occurrence and avoid salinities greater than 0.5 ppt. Gill net catch rates, < 0.04 per hour, suggest the paddlefish population in the Lower Neches River is small.