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Survival of Trout in Streams
Author(s) -
Needham Paul R.
Publication year - 1949
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(1947)77[26:sotis]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - hatchery , trout , fishery , fishing , fish <actinopterygii> , fish hatchery , rainbow trout , biology , aquaculture , fish farming
In spite of extremely heavy expenditures for rearing of hatchery fish, the angling continues to decline. Millions of fish are wasted each year because of lack of facts on how best to utilize properly the product of hatcheries. Survival studies have indicated that under natural conditions, wild brown trout suffer tremendous natural mortalities amounting to 85 percent in the first 18 months of life. Overwinter mortalities averaged 60 percent over a 5‐year period. Variable survival conditions rather than the number of young produced in any year, determine the number of fish that later reach catchable size. Survival studies of hatchery‐reared trout indicated heavier losses than with naturally spawned fish. Creel‐census returns from a number of different waters are presented to support this fact. The conclusion is reached that the angling public must be made aware of the basic economics of hatchery operation, its costs, successes, and failures in order that the field of fishery management again may move ahead.