Premium
Influence of water quality, local knowledge and river–floodplain connectivity on commercial wild crayfish harvesting in the Atchafalaya River Basin
Author(s) -
VargasLopez Ivan A.,
Kelso William E.,
Bonvillain Christopher P.,
Keim Richard F.,
Kaller Michael D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
fisheries management and ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1365-2400
pISSN - 0969-997X
DOI - 10.1111/fme.12422
Subject(s) - crayfish , floodplain , habitat , water quality , environmental science , turbidity , hydrology (agriculture) , fishery , drainage basin , ecology , geography , biology , geology , geotechnical engineering , cartography
Water quality and river connectivity influence fisheries, but their role is not understood in wild crayfish harvest, or how water quality and river connectivity are incorporated into crayfish harvest strategies. In Louisiana, wild harvesting practices were evaluated with field observations and interviews with individual harvesters. Field observations included trap locations, water quality, water stable isotopes (2016) and habitat components over two seasons (2015 and 2016). Traps were set in less turbid water (NTU < 69.4), in depths from 1 to 3 m or 3 to 3.6 m and in locations associated with river water inputs. Harvester interviews indicated the importance of tradition (35%‐47% respondents), depth (88% respondents) and water colour (>40% respondents; a surrogate for turbidity and connectivity) in harvesting initiation and trap locations. Harvesters appeared to follow lateral water movements onto and within the floodplain, likely based on local environmental knowledge.