Evaluation of the bonus fishery created by the low-density stocking of Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) in Bull Shoals Lake
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Bull Shoals Lake is a large impoundment of the White River system in Missouri- Arkansas. Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis; STB) have been experimentally stocked into Bull Shoals since 2013 to create a low-density trophy fishery. We addressed information needs identified by fishery managers at the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to guide future STB management in Bull Shoals. Our goals were: 1) define population dynamics and distribution of the stocked Striped Bass population, and 2) identify potential competition with and predation on, if any, other sport fish populations in Bull Shoals. We used acoustic telemetry, stable isotope analysis, and evaluation of otoliths to address these objectives. Our results demonstrate the STB population in Bull Shoals has both rapid growth rate and high asymptotic average length compared to other inland reservoir populations. We found survival of juvenile and adult STB to be consistent across years and seasons and similar to other landlocked populations. We identified differences in dispersal rate for juveniles within the first six months of stocking, depending on stocking site, but all juveniles showed potential do disperse throughout the lake within nine to twelve months of stocking. We determined that oxythermal habitat is somewhat compressed during summer and early fall, but that habitat refugia appropriate for STB exist throughout the lake during warm months. We found that adult STB regularly occupy deep open water areas of the lake year-round, and they can seek out and occupy oxythermal habitat refugia during warm summer months. We identified potential for competition to occur among Striped Bass, White Bass, and Walleye, but we did not identify evidence of persistent predation on other sport fish species by Striped Bass. Our results suggest that a trophy Striped Bass population may be developed in Bull Shoals Lake under the appropriate stocking rate and harvest regulations.
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Ph. D.