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Three Seasons of Rough Fish Removal at Norris Reservoir, Tennessee
Author(s) -
Carroll Billy B.,
Hall Gordon E.,
Bishop Robert D.
Publication year - 1963
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(1963)92[356:tsorfr]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - fishery , netting , catfish , flathead , swordfish , fishing , common carp , stizostedion , raceway , stocking , carp , tilapia , fish <actinopterygii> , environmental science , biology , cyprinus , business , tuna , engineering , structural engineering , finance , finite element method
Norris Reservoir was not fished commercially prior to 1958. Experimental fishing in the winter of 1958‐59 yielded 91,060 pounds of rough fish, with indications of sufficient numbers of catfishes, carp, carpsuckers, drum, and paddlefish of suitable size to support a limited commercial fishery. Commercial netting by contract the following winter yielded only 39,517 pounds, even though the total netting effort was 1.4 times greater than in 1958‐59. In fall and winter 1960, with still greater daily netting effort, only 13,396 pounds were harvested. The catch per thousand yards of net of the dominant species—paddlefish, flathead catfish, carpsuckers, and carp—declined in the three seasons from approximately 25 to 9 fish and from 322 to 63 pounds. The average weight of all paddlefish caught dropped from 57.2 to 37.4 pounds, and of flathead catfish from 22.6 to 14.7 pounds. Carpsuckers, carp, drum, and other less valuable species were still available in quantity but were not harvested because of the low profit margin. It is recommended that commercial fishing for paddlefish and flathead catfish be allowed every 3 to 5 years, with less valuable rough species being removed continually by state crews or by commercial fishermen receiving some form of subsidy. The 3‐inch‐meshed trammel net proved to be the most effective gear for taking merchantable‐sized rough fishes. Capture of game fishes was negligible, amounting to only 1 percent of the total catch by weight.