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Characteristics of an Unexploited Smallmouth Bass Population in a Missouri Ozark Stream
Author(s) -
Reed Michael S.,
Rabeni Charles F.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1989)009<0420:coausb>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - hectare , bass (fish) , micropterus , fishery , streams , population , population density , population dynamics of fisheries , biomass (ecology) , fish <actinopterygii> , biology , environmental science , zoology , ecology , computer network , demography , sociology , computer science , agriculture
An unexploited population of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui in a headwater stream in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri consisted of relatively slow‐growing fish at a high density (138 fish at least 150 mm long per hectare). The population size structure had a considerable percentage of large fish (proportional stock density = 41; 100 [number of fish ≥280 mm long/ number of fish ≥180 mm long]) and condition was average ( W r = 83; 100 × weight of individual fish/mean weight at length) for smallmouth bass in an Ozark stream. Total annual mortality for fish of ages 3–7 was only 16%. Estimates of biomass (28.9 kg/hectare) and annual production (11.7 kg/hectare) for fish at least 150 mm long were greater than those reported for 10 similar streams. The data suggested that a good‐quality, although perhaps speciality, fishery could be maintained with highly restrictive harvest regulations in a headwater Ozark stream.