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Creel Survey Methods to Assess Catch, Loss, and Capture Frequency of White Sturgeon in the Snake River, Idaho
Author(s) -
Kozfkay Joseph R.,
Dillon Jeff C.
Publication year - 2010
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/m09-064.1
Subject(s) - fishery , sturgeon , fishing , acipenser , geography , catch and release , population , fish <actinopterygii> , lake sturgeon , demography , biology , recreational fishing , sociology
Mandatory catch‐and‐release regulations for white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus have been used to protect small populations from excessive fishing‐related mortality. However, these regulations only remain effective if the combined magnitude of capture and probability of mortality per capture remains at some unknown, relatively low level. We conducted a roving‐access creel survey supplemented with report cards to gather information as a first step in determining whether fishing‐related mortality rates are sustainable in one popular Idaho fishery. Survey objectives were to estimate effort, catch rate, loss rate, and to estimate total catch and loss over a 1‐year period on the C. J. Strike reach of the Snake River. During May 2007 through April 2008, angler counts indicated that 35,062 h were expended in this reach (89% by bank anglers; 11% by boat anglers). Catch rate for bank anglers averaged 0.048 ± 0.004 fish/h (mean ± 90% confidence interval), whereas loss rate averaged 0.064 ± 0.004 fish/h. Boat anglers had higher catch rates and were more efficient at landing hooked white sturgeon. The lack of difference in catch or loss rates computed from on‐site interviews, report cards, or follow‐up phone surveys suggested that there was no bias associated with methods used to collect completed trip information. Based on expansion of these estimates, we calculated that anglers hooked and fought white sturgeon 4,361 times, with 1,996 landings (46%) and 2,365 losses (54%). Using the most recent population estimate, on average, a white sturgeon in this reach was hooked 7.7 times during 1 year, including being landed 3.5 times and lost an additional 4.2 times. The use of supplementary report cards improved precision of catch and loss rate estimates by increasing sample size. Our observations suggest that this method was an unbiased, cost‐efficient method for acquiring completed trip information for a difficult‐to‐monitor white sturgeon fishery and may be useful for similar fisheries.