|
| |
- Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Contact: Mike Wood (318) 343-4045,
wood_mg@wlf.state.la.us
- Habitat Enhancement - To
increase angler success, LDWF is constructing artificial reefs made of
plastic feed pallets. Reefs were constructed in D’Arbonne Lake (6),
Toledo Bend (2), and Lake Bruin (3) in 2003. Underwater observations
indicate that the reef structures work well. Public reaction to the
project has been positive.
- Lead Net Evaluation for Crappie Sampling
- Sampling with a series of lead nets with mesh sizes from 0.5”–2.0” has
been conducted on four Louisiana lakes. Preliminary results indicate
significant differences between the array of lead nets and 0.5” mesh
frame nets. Results will be published soon.
- Largemouth bass virus sampling
– Fish from 9 or 15 water bodies sampled in 2003 were positive for LMBV.
Samples were collected during standardized electrofishing and analyzed
as part of a cooperative USFWS survey. Three LMBV related fish kills
have occurred in LA – all in 2000 and all in Mississippi River oxbow
lakes. Future plans include cooperative work with LSU of a non-lethal
test for the virus. Click here for a
presentation of the report.
- Aquatic Habitat Management
- Crews utilizing boats, airboats, mud boats and roadside spray units
continued to apply herbicide to freshwater wetlands infested with water
hyacinths. Another more recent invasive exotic plant introduction into
Louisiana waters is salvinia. There now are two species of this aquatic
plant in the state. Common salvinia (Salvinia minima) has been in
the state since 1980 and is rapidly spreading throughout the state.
Giant salvinia was discovered in Toledo Bend Reservoir in the summer of
1998. It is thought to have been introduced by the water garden trade.
Giant salvinia has been treated effectively in public waters to date,
but it has also been discovered in private waters. Salvinia weevils are
being stocked to evaluate their potential as a bio-control agent.
-
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Contact: Larry Pugh (662) 840-5172,
larryp@dwfp.state.ms.us
- Statewide Bass Tournament Program. Collected and
summarized tournament data from MS lakes and reservoirs to provide
additional information on bass populations and provide angler feedback.
Encouraging more angler participation from a statewide level. Report
available on agency website.
- LMBV research. No sampling scheduled during 2004. No
documented fish kills in 2004. Lower incidence found in bass on lakes
where kills were documented and bass populations on those lakes appear
to be rebounding.
- Habitat work. Utilizing GIS to map reservoir habitat
for sampling protocol and create maps that will be available to anglers.
Fish attractor program continued each year on four flood-control
reservoirs.
- Paddlefish research. Literature review complete and
hatchery methods being studied.
- Walleye. Evaluating hatchery methodology and
conducting stocking evaluations.
- Gulf Coast Strain Striped Bass stocked in Ross
Barnett Reservoir to help establish and maintain broodstock and further
develop fishery in the lake and the spillway.
- Missouri Department
of Conservation
Contact: Mike Colvin (573) 882-9880,
Colvim@mdc.state.mo.us
- SMITHVILLE LAKE VEGETATION PROJECT
DROUGHT HAS POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES
In 2003, we completed our fourth year of our
vegetation establishment activities. Typically Smithville Lake will
fluctuate from 2 feet low to 4 feet high during the spring and early
summer months. In 2003 the lake levels
never reached normal pool and we were concerned that our plantings would
be adversely affected. While growth and expansion slowed for some
species, other plants thrived and multiplied rapidly.
To date we have constructed 43 fenced enclosures to
protect plantings from herbivore, both terrestrial and aquatic. This is
a typical enclosure with planting zones of shoreline, emergent, floating
leave and submersed plants in each enclosure.
One plant that has done really well is square-stem
spikerush (Eleocharis quadrangulata). The next picture shows how this
spikerush can expand rapidly and move outside the enclosure. This stand
of spikerush is three years post-planting and became established with
six small clumps of spikerush. The leafy plant on the lake-side of the
spikerush is grass-leaved arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea). This plant
also reproduces quickly and was established with six plants at this
site. Both of these plants survived the low water levels in 2003, but
did not expand as in previous years.
Two other near shore plants we have been pleased with
are great bulrush (Scirpus validus) and sweet flag (Acorus calamus).
This picture shows sweet flag in the foreground with bulrush in the
background. Our sweet flag did not expand much in 2003, but appeared
healthy and survived well. The
bulrush expanded astronomically in 2003. Bulrush grows very tall and in
low water tends to droop and drop its seed next to the parent plant. The
bulrush stands doubled in size as it dropped seed next to the water’s
edge and grew well. New colonies were also encountered away from the
enclosure. In one cove we counted 28 new colonies of bulrush in 2003. We
anticipate this plant to continue to flourish as the number of founder
colonies continues to climb.
The most amazing survival story of 2003 was how our
spatterdock (Nuphar luteum) plantings from 2002 survived being totally
out of the water for much of the year. This photo shows this plant
continuing to remain viable, even when its floating leaves don’t.
Our submersed vegetation did well in 2003 with both
water star grass (Heteranthera dubia) and eelgrass (Vallesneria
Americana) expanding rapidly in our enclosures. Clear water due to lack
of rain allowed these plants to grow in deeper water. We also began to
see new colonies of these plants growing outside the enclosures in
several coves. We removed the fencing from four of or first experimental
enclosures this year to see if the plants would survive grazing, etc.
All four stands showed signs of herbivore activity but survived the
browsing. This photo shows eelgrass forming dense stands in one year.
Our vegetation efforts began at Longview Lake 10 years
ago by planting water willow. We still use water willow extensively as a
shoreline/emergent plant. We use bailing netting to make long tubes full
of water willow. These “burritos” are floated for 6 weeks while the
plants grow new tops and roots. These are then staked at the water’s
edge and become consolidated in to the bank in a few days. This planting
is two weeks old.
In 2004, we will continue with our planting efforts
and we will be able to prolong this project 5 more years if our 1135
project with the Corps of Engineers is funded. If funded we will have 10
years of planting efforts to evaluate and refine.
Contact: Jake Allman, Missouri Department of
Conservation, 1 Victory Drive, Ste 100, Liberty, MO 64068,
Jake.Allman@mdc.mo.gov
-
Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation
Contact: Gene Gilliland (405) 325-7288;
ggillokla@aol.com
- Fisheries biologists flexing their green thumbs
It’s not the most glamorous work in the world.
Slogging around in the mud and the muck planting aquatic plants makes
for some long, hard work days in the summer.
But fisheries biologists with the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are beginning to see the
fruits of their labor. Three years ago biologists began flexing their
green thumbs and began an effort to restore the aquatic vegetation
around the shores of Lake Thunderbird in central Oklahoma and biologists
believe that their work is beginning to pay off.
“The plants are beginning to spread outside of the
areas where we have planted them and we think these new areas of aquatic
vegetation may have some real positive effects on the survival of young
fish,” said Gene Gilliland, senior fisheries biologist for the Wildlife
Department.
 Wildlife
Department personnel built 18 different cages to help protect the young
plants from turtles and other herbivores. The cages, or exclosures, were
built using vinyl-coated chicken wire and fence posts and were placed at
six different sites around the lake.
“Our primary goal, is to provide hiding places in the
summer for recently hatched fish such as bass, bluegill and minnows,”
Gilliland said. “Natural vegetation is just about the best nursery
habitat available for these young fish.”
Biologists planted nearly ten different types of
aquatic plants including
plants that grow in deeper water and plants that can survive out of the
water for a brief time during the dry summer months. The plants were
obtained from a wide variety of sources, including purchasing them form
greenhouses, transplanting them from local ponds and propagating plants
at the Department’s Fishery Research Laboratory in Norman.
“We wanted to plant a wide variety of plants so that
there would be some stability in the habitat. The more plant diversity
that is in the lake, the more likelihood that at least a portion of the
plants can survive through a range of factors like changes in water
levels or changes in water clarity,” Gilliland said.
 Gilliland
added that the assistance of many different volunteers proved invaluable
in completing the project.
“Projects like these are relatively cheap, for the
return in the investment. However, they can be quite labor intensive and
we couldn’t have done it with out the help of volunteers,” Gilliland
said.
Similar re-vegetation projects are also ongoing on
several lakes around the
state including Eufaula, Texoma, Skiatook, Kaw and Wes Watkins lakes.
Landowners interested in improving aquatic habitats on
their own ponds may want to log on to a habitat consultation Web site
created by the American Fisheries Society. The Web site,
www.sdafs.org/habitat,
provides landowners with a list of the recommended plantings according
to their pond description and location.
For more information about fisheries management in
Oklahoma, contact the Oklahoma Fishery Laboratory at (405) 325-7288.
- South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Contact: Wade Bales (803) 734-3932 -O,
wadeb@scdnr.state.sc.us
- Establishment of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation,
Richard B. Russell Lake
American pondweed founder colonies were
established on Lake Russell in 2001 and 2002. A combination of small
colonies (0.001 ac) and large colonies (0.003 ac – 0.3 ac) were planted
with American pondweed tubers spring 2001, spring, summer, fall 2002. By
fall 2002, 60% of sites (N=40) had growth expansion outside fencing; 23%
(N=15) had more growth outside fencing than inside. A four-year drought
ended in 2002, followed by a flood year in 2003. By fall 2003, only 28%
of sites had growth beyond fencing; zero growth occurred at 45% of
sites, compared to 12% in 2002. High lake elevations flooded plant sites
throughout the spring which resulted in a net loss of three months
during early growth period in 2003. Primary limiting factors to American
pondweed growth and expansion were lake elevations (high/low) and wave
action. Project is ongoing with fence removal planned for summer 2004 at
select sites and a follow-up electrofishing survey of centrarchid
populations during fall 2004. Contact: Wade Bales – 803-734-3932
- Crappie Exploitation Study, Lake Greenwood
An exploitation study was initiated March 1, 2004 on
Lake Greenwood to address potential excessive crappie harvest. Lake
Greenwood is a 11,000 ac eutrophic impoundment of the Saluda River that
is an extremely popular crappie-fishing destination as well as host to
many crappie tournaments annually. FAST modeling indicated the Greenwood
crappie population could support a minimum size limit. The study’s
purpose is to measure exploitation, further evaluate size limits, and to
answer angler concerns about harvest impacts. Tagging began March 1 with
a target sample size of 1,000 fish; to date 55 tags have been returned
with 866 fish tagged. Contact: Gene Hayes – 864-223-1307
- Spotted bass:Redeye bass Hybridization Study
This is a cooperative project involving DNR, Duke
Energy, and the University of SC. Spotted bass were introduced into the
Savannah River system presumably by anglers in the late 1980s/early
1990s. Since introduction, spotted bass (Alabama strain and Northern
strain) have increased significantly in abundance. Hybridization between
spotted bass and native redeye bass has been documented in one upper
reservoir (Keowee). The goal of this study is to survey spotted bass,
redeye, and putative hybrids from Savannah reservoirs down to Lake
Russell to look at frequency of hybridization. Fish from 16 tributary
streams will also be included in the survey. Contact: Jean Leitner –
803-353-8232, Dan Rankin – 864-654-6346 ext. 11
- Smallmouth Bass Stock Evaluation
This study will evaluate stocking of fingerling vs.
sub-adult smallmouth bass in Lake Robinson (where we are trying to
establish a population) and Jocassee (where we have established a
remnant population but natural recruitment limits the population).
Fingerlings will be single marked and sub-adults double marked.
Management biologists in SC have always felt sub-adults would be more
successful. Stocking will be initiated in 2004. Contact: Dan Rankin –
864-654-6346 ext. 11
- Development of a Dynamic Water Quality Model for
Lake Greenwood, SC
As in most lakes and reservoirs, patterns of water
quality in Lake Greenwood result from a complex interaction of river and
lake hydrodynamics, nutrient loading from both point- and nonpoint
sources, and in-lake ecological processes. The primary goal of this
study is to develop a dynamic model of water quality in Lake Greenwood
to help quantify and understand these interactions and to help formulate
long-term plans for water quality and aquatic habitat protection. The
model will provide a quantitative tool to link patterns of nutrient
loading, plankton community structure, and oxygen distributions to
habitat quality and related biotic conditions. Contact: Hank McKellar –
803-353-8232
- Hydrilla Management in Santee-Cooper Lakes
We estimate that about 17000 grass carp remain in the
lakes now and they are declining at about 32% per year. No fish have
been stocked since 1996. There are 48,000 acres that have been vegetated
with hydrilla at one time or another, so theoretically, we now have
fewer than 0.5 grass carp per "controlled" acre of hydrilla. One
unknown, however, is the growth potential of hydrilla in those
"controlled" acres, as they include areas of the lake where hydrilla has
been absent for over 10 years. Fish exclosures have been put in place
this year so we can see what grows where grass carp are excluded and get
a better idea of the plant-growth potential. Vegetation surveys will be
conducted throughout the summer months. At some point, perhaps as soon
as 2005, grass carp will be stocked to achieve the population size we
think is right. Our objective for the lakes is for 10% of the lake
surface area to be vegetated with emergent, floating leaf, or submerged
species (preferably native species) that benefit fish or waterfowl. The
other goal is to not let hydrilla get out of control! Contact: Miller
White – 843-825-3387
- Age and Growth of Blue Catfish, Santee-Cooper
Lakes
Our preliminary aging work with Santee Cooper blue
catfish indicates a significant decrease in growth rate over the past 25
years. Initial aging work done in the late 70s, during population
expansion, showed that there were individuals reaching 50 pounds in 9
years. The fastest growing 50 lb fish now took 15 years to grow to that
size. The oldest fished aged so far was a 25 lb fish that would have
been 20 years old late this spring. This information reinforces our
management strategy of maximizing harvest of smaller size blue catfish,
while trying to allocate the majority of the harvest to recreational rod
and reel anglers. We are currently pursuing legislation that would
restrict harvest of blue catfish over 36' to one per person regardless
of fishing method used. Contact: Scott Lamprecht – 843-825-3387
-
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department
Contact: Fred Janssen (512) 389-4655,
fred.janssen@tpwd.state.tx.us
- Sam Rayburn Exploitation Study
Contact: Todd Driscoll (409) 384-9572,
todd.driscoll@tpwd.state.tx.us
- In October 2003, we tagged 6,021 largemouth bass,
ranging from 12.4 to 25.4 inches.
- We have received 298 voluntary phone calls from
anglers reporting tagged fish caught.
- Based on discussions with anglers on creel
surveys, we speculate that the voluntary reporting rate is < 20%,
which is what we expected.
- Voluntary calls are essentially all bonus
information, although Jay will incorporate this database into his
Master’s thesis.
- Assuming our estimate of nonreporting is correct,
at the halfway point 1,500 – 3,000 tagged bass have been caught.
- Of these 298 tagged fish reported, 189 were
immediately released (63%), 39 were caught by tourney anglers and
released (13%), 55 were harvested (18%), and 15 were unknown (5%).
- To estimate tag loss, all 6,021 fish were
double-tagged. Of these 298 fish reported, 106 fish (36%) only had
one tag present.
- Typically, exploitation studies solely rely on
voluntary reports to document tag returns. Lack of reporting and
difficulty of precisely estimating nonreporting rates plague these
study designs and result in exploitation estimates with wide
confidence intervals. To avoid these problems, our exploitation rate
will be derived within our standardized creel survey protocol. Creel
clerks identify tagged fish during creel surveys. These observations
are identified and extrapolated via our creel analysis program. Based
on initial simulations, this design should result in an estimate of
exploitation within 10-14 % of the true value with 90 % confidence.
- We have conducted 39 creels since the tagging
event, interviewed 1,810 angling parties, and observed 33 tagged
fish (11 of these fish had only one tag).
- Tag return classification:
- Non-tourney harvest - 7
- Non-tourney release – 12
- Tourney (fish weighed in) – 5
- Tourney release/cull
(fish released before weigh-in) – 9
- Our actual exploitation rate will include
harvested fish and the percent of tourney fish mortalities
(calculated by using published mortality rates as they relate to
water temperature).
- Based on our initial simulations, if we observed
14 or 70 harvested tagged fish on creel surveys in one year, that
would equate to an exploitation rate of 30 and 100%, respectively.
However, these projections don't exactly apply anymore because the
number of fish we actually tagged was higher than we simulated
(4,000) and we increased our creel effort by 33%.
- It is hard to predict exactly where we are until
the study year is complete, due to 1) each tagged fish observed in the
creel is extrapolated via the analysis program and the actual weight
of each observation varies with the total daily bass fishing effort
and catch rates, and 2) the final exploitation estimate will be
adjusted for tag loss.
- Tag loss rates from previous studies have been
variable, ranging from 4 – 78%. At this point, both the voluntary
and the creel database indicate that around 30% of the fish have
lost a tag. Tag loss will be calculated with a logistic model that
assumes tag loss is dependent on time, and this equation will
estimate how many of our fish lost both tags.
- Lake Fork Trophy Bass Survey
Contact: Kevin Storey (903) 593-5077,
kevin.storey@tpwd.state.tx.us
download a .pdf
summary with more results here
- Accomplishments
- The project is in its 14th month
- In the course of 12 months, anglers from 33
states have submitted 1,889 trophy bass
- A small core of marinas actively promote the
survey to their customers
- Monthly summaries provided to participating
marinas, reporters and TPWD administration
- News releases distributed prior to start of
program, and after 6 months
- Distributed 8 ½ x 5 ½ “ posters to area motels
for display in their rooms
- Public presentation made to Lake Fork Sportsman’s
Association in February 2004 to try to increase participation by
dispelling misconceptions about survey
- Disappointments
- Angler reporting rate for the period 3/03 – 2/04
(calculated through creel) low;
- Total - 13% (4/30)
- General anglers – 17% (4/23)
- Guides – 0% (0/7)
- Total for the period 2/03 – 3/04 – 16%
- Guide participation rate low; some can’t see the
benefit to participation
- Some anglers believe performance of survey tied
to stocking of Florida strain largemouth bass in Lake Fork
- Guide log books not used any more – fish are
recorded on marina ledgers
- Project is labor-intensive
- No cost-sharing by co-sponsors
- A few marinas are not willing to invest any time
into program
To the top
 |
|