The following schedule is from the 72nd Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies which was held October 21-24, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama.
AUTHORS: Tyler Steven Coleman, Matthew J. Catalano, Russell A. Wright – School of Fisheries Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University; Graves Lovell, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division
ABSTRACT: Control of Micropterus salmoides (LMB) recruitment would benefit small impoundment (SI) recreational fisheries by reducing LMB population density, which could improve growth rates, body condition, and size structure. Application of the piscicide rotenone along the shoreline is an approach that has the potential to selectively reduce LMB recruitment in SI’s, but its performance has not yet been thoroughly evaluated. We evaluated the influence of shoreline rotenone treatment on age-0 and age-1 LMB density, growth, and body condition in SI’s and assessed the effect of impoundment size on the efficiency of the approach. During 2017, shoreline rotenone was applied at six SI’s and another six were established as untreated controls. If shoreline rotenone treatments prove effective in reducing LMB recruitment and population densities, then this approach will be a valuable tool for state agencies, private consultants, and landowners managing recreational fishing SI’s.
