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Natural Rearing Enclosures for Smallmouth Black Bass
Author(s) -
Rawson D. S.
Publication year - 1938
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1937)67[96:nrefsb]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - bass (fish) , fishery , stock (firearms) , environmental science , biology , ecology , geography , archaeology
Abstract A new procedure for both the introduction and rearing of smallmouth black bass has been tried in lakes of the Prince Albert National Park. The adult bass were transferred before the spawning season and confined in enclosures, screened off, in protected parts of the lake. This procedure allows protection of the parent stock, prevents undesirable scattering, and makes possible accurate observation of survival, spawning activities, etc. Eighty‐five adults in enclosures produced 85,000 fry while intensive search revealed no nests from 215 bass released in the open lake. Rearing was accomplished in “natural” enclosures, that is, protected areas suitable for spawning and cut off by fences of 1‐inch mesh galvanized wire. Within these enclosures the bass were handled according to the usual practice in ‘artificial’ rearing ponds. The chief advantages of the methods used, lie in the degree of control over the introduction of the adults, the economy of rearing, and the ease of distribution of the fry. It is suggested that similar enclosures might be used in breeding and rearing stations either temporary or permanent for bass and related species.