Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Fish and Fisheries”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources
USGS2016

Mixed stock analysis of Lake Michigan's Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis commercial fishery

Lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) support the primary commercial fishery in Lake Michigan. Discrete genetic stocks of lake whitefish have been identified and tagging data suggest stocks are mixed throughout much of the year. Our objectives were to determine if (1) differential stock harvest occurs in the commercial catch, (2) spatial differences in genetic composition of harvested fish were present, and (3) seasonal differences were present in the harvest by commercial fisheries that operate in management zones WI-2 and WFM-01 (Green Bay, Lake Michigan). Mixed stock analysis was conducted on 17 commercial harvest samples (n = 78–145/sample) collected from various ports lake-wide during 2009–2010. Results showed significant mixing with variability in stock composition across most samples. Samples consisted of two to four genetic stocks each accounting for ≥ 10% the catch. In 10 of 17 samples, the stock contributing the largest proportion made up < 60% of the harvest. In general, seasonal and annual differences existed in the proportional stock contribution at a single capture location. Samples from Wisconsin's primary commercial fishing management zone (WI-2) were composed predominately of fish from the Big Bay de Noc (Michigan) stock as opposed to the geographically proximate, North–Moonlight Bay (Wisconsin) stock. These findings have implications for management and allocation of fish to various quotas. Specifically, geographic location of harvest, the current means of allocating harvest quotas, is not the best predictor of genetic stock harvest.

Lake Michigan↗
USGS1983

Nonmigratory salmonids and tailwaters - a survey of stocking practices in the United States

A mail survey of fisheries agencies in the United States showed that 207.7 million nonmigratory salmonids were stocked in 1980 in the waters of 47 states (exclusive of the Great Lakes). Stocking in tailwaters accounted for 6.9 million or 3.3% of the total. In the South, 32.3% of all salmonids were stocked in tailwaters. Percentages stocked in tailwaters were lower in the West (1.8%), Midwest (1.5%), and Northeast (0.5%) because natural trout water is abundant in these regions. The rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) was the salmonid most commonly stocked in tailwaters, composing 95% of the fish 150 mm long or longer and 75% of the fish shorter than 150 mm. Nationally, tailwaters were more likely than other waters to be stocked with fish of the larger size.

Fisheries↗
USGS1994

Declining survival of lake trout stocked during 1963-1986 in U.S. waters of Lake Superior

The average catch per effort (CPE) values for the 1963&ndash;1982 year-classes of stocked lake trout Salvelinus namaycush caught at age 7 in gill nets and for the 1976&ndash;1986 year-classes caught at ages 2&ndash;4 in trawls declined significantly in U.S. waters of Lake Superior. The declines in CPE were not explained by reduced stocking, but rather by significant declines in survival indices of the year-classes of stocked lake trout. Increases in mortality occurred in year-classes before the fish reached ages 2&ndash;4, before they were recruited into the sport and commercial fisheries, and before they reached sizes vulnerable to sea lamprey predation. We conclude that declining abundance of stocked lake trout resulted from increased mortality, which may have been caused by competition, predation, or by a combination of these and other factors. Restoration of lake trout in Lake Superior may now depend on prudent management of naturally reproducing stocks rather than on stocking of hatchery-reared fish.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS1994

Development of an antimycin-impregnated bait for controlling common carp

The common carp Cyprinus carpio is a major problem for fisheries and wildlife managers because its feeding behavior causes degradation of valuable fish and waterfowl habitat. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an antimycin‐impregnated bait for control of common carp. The toxic bait contained fish meal, a binder, antimycin, and water. The ingredients were mixed together and made into pellets. This bait was force‐fed to common carp or administered in a pond environment, where fish voluntarily fed on the bait. The lowest lethal dose in the force‐feeding study was 0.346 mg antimycin/kg of fish and doses that exceeded 0.811 mg antimycin/kg were toxic to all fish. On three occasions, adult common carp held in 0.004‐ha concrete ponds were offered 10 g of toxic bait containing 5.0, 7.5, and 10 mg antimycin/g of bait and the mean mortalities 96 h later were 21, 35, and 51%, respectively. Three tests were conducted in 0.04‐ha earthen ponds each containing 100 adult common carp; these fish were offered 50 g of the toxic bait that contained 10 mg antimycin/g, and the mean mortalities (96 h) were 19, 32, and 74%. Toxic baits should be used in conjunction with other management techniques, and only when common carp are congregated and actively feeding, and when few nontarget bottom‐feeding species are present.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS2012

Site choice among Minnesota walleye anglers: The influence of resource conditions, regulations and catch orientation on Lake Preference

Understanding angler site choice preferences is important in the management of recreational fisheries to forecast angling demand and effort. This study investigated lake choice by recreational anglers fishing for walleye Sander vitreus in Minnesota and examined how choices were influenced by lake characteristics, angler demographics, and angler catch orientation. We collected data through a stated choice preference experiment using a survey administered to a sample of Minnesota resident ( n =1096) and nonresident ( n =535) anglers. Multinomial probit choice models were used to estimate preferences in lake choice. Lake characteristics included walleye abundance, walleye size, bag limit, slot limit, and distance from primary residence. Models included (1) lake characteristics only, (2) lake characteristics and angler demographics, and (3) lake characteristics with angler demographics and catch orientation factors. The coefficients of lake attributes had expected signs with greater preference for higher walleye abundance, larger walleye, bigger bag limits, absence of slot limits, and less driving time from home ( P <0.001 for all lake characteristics in the first model). Lake choice was influenced by the interaction of lake characteristics with age (negative with abundance of fish, P <0.100; positive with distance from home, P <0.001), metropolitan and out-of-state residency (positive with distance from home, P <0.001), and strength of preference for walleye (positive with distance, P <0.01). A stronger orientation to keep walleye was positively related to increased bag limits ( P <0.001) and negatively related to slot limits ( P <0.01). Study results have clear implications for managers—bag limits, relative to other lake characteristics, had a large influence on anglers’ lake choice for walleye fishing. Because of a stronger catch orientation among walleye anglers, low bag limits reduce lake preference. The results clarify the trade-offs that anglers make when selecting a place to fish for walleye and demonstrate how different management scenarios might influence angler participation.

Minnesota↗
USGS2003

Electrofishing and its harmful effects on fish

Electrofishing, a valuable sampling technique in North America for over half a century, involves a very dynamic and complex mix of physics, physiology, and behavior that remains poorly understood. New hypotheses have been advanced regarding "power transfer" to fish and the epileptic nature of their responses to electric fields, but these too need to be more fully explored and validated. Fishery researchers and managers in the Colorado River Basin, and elsewhere, are particularly concerned about the harmful effects of electrofishing on fish, especially endangered species. Although often not externally obvious or fatal, spinal injuries and associated hemorrhages sometimes have been documented in over 50% of fish examined internally. Such injuries can occur anywhere in the electrofishing field at or above the intensity threshold for twitch. These injuries are believed to result from powerful convulsions of body musculature (possibly epileptic seizures) caused mostly by sudden changes in voltage as when electricity is pulsed or switched on or off. Significantly fewer spinal injuries are reported when direct current, low-frequency pulsed direct current (<30 Hz), or specially designed pulse trains are used. Salmoniae are especially susceptible. Endangered cyprinids of the Colorado River Basin are generally much less susceptible, enough so to allow cautious use of less harmful currents for most recovery monitoring and research. However, the endangered catostomid Xyrauchen texanus appears sufficiently susceptible to warrant a continued minimal-use policy. Other harmful effects, such as bleeding at gills or vent and excessive physiological stress, are also of concern. Mortality, usually by asphyxiation, is a common result of excessive exposure to tetanizing intensities near electrodes or poor handling of captured specimens. Reported effects on reproduction are contradictory, but electrofishing over spawning grounds can harm embryos. Electrofishing is often considered the most effective and benign technique for capturing moderate- to large-size fish, but when adverse effects are problematic and cannot be sufficiently reduced, its use should be severely restricted.

Information and Technology Report↗
USGS1949

The present status of the United States commercial fisheries of the Great Lakes

This review of the trends in production on the Great Lakes suggests that great biological changes have taken place. The general abundance of the choicer varieties, and of some of the less choice fishes, has been lowered considerably; and the prospects are that this level will fall still farther. In addition, the niches occupied by these finer species in the lakes have not been filled by coarser forms. Much of the reduced abundance in modern fishery must be attributed to overfishing or unwise fishing (cisco, whitefish, lake trout, chubs). Part of it we believe was caused by an infectious disease as was true for the smelt; part of it by the parasitic predator, the sea lamprey. Perhaps increased competition for space or food such as might have been brought about by the smelt in Lakes Huron and Michigan or the alewives in Lake Ontario may have played a role. Pollution, too, may have taken its toll. Often we have no better explanation to offer than to state that some unknown change in the environment was responsible.

Transactions of the North American Wildlife Confer↗
USGS2020

Spatial and temporal behavioral differences between angler-access types

Recreational angler surveys typically collect information on how anglers access a fishery. Yet, it is unclear how this information is useful for fisheries management and conservation. The objective of this study was to compare behavior (e.g., party size, time fished, and numbers of fish released and harvested) of bank and boat anglers, representing two angler-access types. Bank and boat anglers were surveyed across 29 Nebraska waterbodies from April through October, 2007–2017. We documented behavioral differences between bank and boat anglers that varied as a function of waterbody size and season. Patterns of party size, time fished, and numbers of fish released and harvested for bank and boat anglers differed across extra small, small, medium, and large waterbodies and across spring, summer, and fall. How anglers choose to access a fishery appears to be a source of heterogeneity within angler populations. Accounting for these spatial and temporal behavioral differences between angler-access types will be important for designing and implementing management regulations. We predict that angler-access types may respond uniquely to different management actions (e.g., size and bag limits, access maintenance, and cleanliness of amenities) that could lead to local and regional changes within and across fisheries (e.g., shift the composition of angler-access types). Continued collection and assessment of angler-access information is warranted and should lead to improved management and conservation of recreational fisheries.

Nebraska↗
USGS2023

Lake Ontario April prey fish survey results and Alewife assessment, 2023

The April bottom trawl survey and Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus population assessment provides science to inform Lake Ontario fisheries management. The 2023 survey included 215 trawls in the main lake and embayments, and sampled depths from 6.5 to 252 m (21-833 ft). The survey captured 1,012,178 fish from 32 species with a total weight of 12,136 kg (26,700 lbs.). Alewife were 92% of the catch by number while Rainbow Smelt, Osmerus mordax , Deepwater Sculpin, Myoxocephalus thompsonii , and Round Goby, Neogobius melanostomus , comprised 3%, 3%, and 1% of the catch, respectively. To improve the accuracy of prey fish biomass and density estimates we reanalyzed trawl sensor data from each of three participating survey vessels and created vessel-specific relationships predicting how bottom trawl bottom contact time, wing width, and area-swept varies with depth. Total Alewife biomass increased in 2023 due to growth and survival of the abundant 2020 year class (now age-3) and an abundant 2022 year class (age-1). The 2023 mean Alewife biomass (81.1 kg·ha -1 ) was the largest since whole lake sampling began in 2016 and was the ninth largest value observed in the modern time series (1997-2023, maximum value in 2000 = 91.8 kg·ha -1 ). The 2023 Alewife density (6795 n·ha -1 ) was the greatest density observed in the modern time series. These high biomass and density values are due to above average Alewife reproductive success in 2020 and 2022. Simulation modeling suggests the 2024 and 2025 Alewife biomass index may be substantially higher than the 2023 observations. In 2023, the Rainbow Smelt biomass index increased relative to the 2022 index, as did the biomass index for Cisco, Coregonus artedi . In contrast, Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides and Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus , biomass values continue to be low (< 0.01 kg·ha -1 ). Three Bloater Coregonus hoyi , were captured during the 2023 survey. Hydroacoustic sampling conducted during the bottom trawl survey estimated prey fish densities in pelagic habitats not sampled by the bottom trawl (3 m below the surface to 3 m above the lake bottom) and these densities were hundreds to thousands of times lower than bottom trawl-based densities. These results support the idea that, in April, when the warmest water is on the lake bottom, Alewife and most other pelagic prey fish are near the lake bottom and can be effectively sampled with bottom trawling.

Lake Ontario↗
USGS1981

Mortality of seabirds in high-seas salmon gillnets

Since 1952, the Japanese have operated a large salmon driftnet fishery in the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. This fishery is divided into two components: the high-seas mothership fleet, which consists of several processing ships and their numerous, smaller catcher boats that remain at sea during the entire fishing season, and the land-based fleet, which consists of independent fishing boats that catch and store their own fish and return to Japan at more frequent intervals (Sanger 1976; Fredin et al. 2 ). A similar fishery in the North Atlantic between 1965 and 1976 was responsible for the deaths of large numbers of the thick-billed murre, Uria lomvia , and significant reductions in its breeding populations (Tull et al. 1972). Recent work in the North Pacific and Bering Sea by Sana (1978) and King et al. (1979) indicated that large numbers of seabirds are killed annually in the Japanese salmon fishery also.

Fishery Bulletin↗
USGS2025

Home ranges of economically important reef fishes at North Carolina artificial reefs

Home range is a vital component to understanding animal ecology and can vary with factors like species, body size, and habitat. Artificial reefs are increasingly used to supplement or enhance habitat for reef fish. Quantifying reef fish home range sizes and the factors affecting home ranges is thus critical to understanding the efficacy of artificial reefs to sustain communities that reflect those on natural reefs. We estimated home ranges of reef fishes at artificial reefs in the southeast United States, evaluated what factors affected those home ranges, and compared them to home ranges of similarly sized fish on natural reefs. From June–October 2021 and 2022, we deployed acoustic tags on five fishery targeted reef species, black sea bass ( Centropristis striata ), gag ( Mycteroperca microlepis ), greater amberjack ( Seriola dumerili ), almaco jack ( S. rivoliana ), and red snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus ), on four artificial reefs near Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Tagged fish were tracked using a fine-scale positioning system for ~ 120 days. Home ranges varied by species and fish size (i.e., total length). Black sea bass had the smallest home ranges (mean = 6266 m 2 ), gag and red snapper had moderate home ranges (38,265 m 2 and 53,553 m 2 , respectively), and almaco jack and greater amberjack had the largest (152,146 m 2 , and 414,107 m 2 , respectively). Black sea bass, gag, and red snapper displayed increased home range size with total length while greater amberjack and almaco jack home ranges remained relatively constant across lengths. Greater amberjack home ranges were further influenced by artificial reef complex area with an increase in reef area leading to a larger home range. Our data from artificial reefs showed considerable overlap in the relationship between home range and body size when compared to similarly sized predatory reef fish on natural reefs. This information will be vital in improving ecological understanding of how artificial reefs can influence area use of reef-associated species to help inform future artificial reef deployments. Moreover, these results provide an important comparison between artificial reefs and natural reefs as habitats for reef-associated species, a topic that will become increasingly important as the quantity of artificial structures in our oceans increases. deployments. Moreover, these results provide an important comparison between artificial reefs and natural reefs as habitats for reef-associated species, a topic that will become increasingly important as the quantity of artificial structures in our oceans increases.

North Carolina↗
USGS2016

Documenting the use of the Long Term Resource Monitoring element’s fish monitoring methodologies throughout the Midwest

The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program&rsquo;s Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element is designed to monitor and assess long term trends in the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). To accomplish this, standardized methods are used that allow for comparisons across pools and rivers. In recent years, other projects and other agencies have adopted the LTRM fish methodologies for use outside the UMRR. To determine how widespread the use of the Fish Component&rsquo;s methods are, a twelve question survey was delivered via SurveyMonkey.com through the states comprising the American Fisheries Society (AFS) North Central Division and the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee. Approximately 2,000 professionals were reached with &asymp;11 percent participating. Results indicate that nearly all (95 percent) respondents use standardized methods in their sampling and 48 percent are familiar with the LTRM fish methodologies. Roughly one-third (35 percent) of all respondents have used the methods in the past and most (78 percent) of those have modified the methods to suit the information needs specific to their fishery. Results indicate that the LTRM methods have indeed spread outside the UMRR and are now a well-known and potentially widely used technique to sample fish communities.

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin↗
USGS2017

Earning their stripes: The potential of tiger trout and other salmonids as biological controls of forage fishes in a western reservoir

Maintaining a balance between predator and prey populations can be an ongoing challenge for fisheries managers, especially in managing artificial ecosystems such as reservoirs. In a high-elevation Utah reservoir, the unintentional introduction of the Utah Chub Gila atraria and its subsequent population expansion prompted managers to experimentally shift from exclusively stocking Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss to also stocking tiger trout (female Brown Trout Salmo trutta × male Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis ) and Bonneville Cutthroat Trout O. clarkii utah (hereafter, Cutthroat Trout) as potential biological control agents. We measured a combination of diet, growth, temperature, and abundance and used bioenergetic simulations to quantify predator demand versus prey supply. Utah Chub were the predominant prey type for tiger trout, contributing up to 80% of the diet depending on the season. Utah Chub represented up to 70% of the total diet consumed by Cutthroat Trout. Although Utah Chub dominated the fish biomass in the reservoir, we still estimated abundances of 238,000 tiger trout, 214,000 Cutthroat Trout, and 55,000 Rainbow Trout. Consequently, when expanded to the population level of each predator, tiger trout and Cutthroat Trout consumed large quantities of Utah Chub on an annual basis: tiger trout consumed 508,000 kg (2,660 g/predator) of the standing prey population, and Cutthroat Trout consumed an estimated 322,000 kg (1,820 g/predator). The estimated combined consumption by Cutthroat Trout and tiger trout exceeded the estimate of Utah Chub annual production. As such, our results suggest that the high rates of piscivory exhibited by Cutthroat Trout and tiger trout in artificial lentic ecosystems are likely sufficient to effectively reduce the overall abundance of forage fishes and to prevent forage fishes from dominating fish assemblages. Collectively, this research provides the first documented findings on tiger trout ecology and performance, which will aid managers in designing and implementing the best stocking strategy to optimize sport fish performance, control undesirable forage fish, and enhance and maintain angler satisfaction.

Utah↗