Evaluating the contributions and economic costs for Walleye fry and fingerling stocking in a large midwestern reservoir

IF 2.2 2区农林科学 Q2 FISHERIES

Fisheries Research Pub Date : 2024-10-14 DOI:10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107207

Logan R. Zebro , Greg G. Sass , Melissa R. Wuellner , Keith D. Koupal

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Stocking is a common management practice to maintain Walleye populations where natural recruitment is low or to introduce and sustain Walleye populations outside of their native range. Walleye can be stocked at multiple lengths (e.g., fry and fingerling) and different sizes of stocked Walleye may contribute differently to Walleye year class strength, depending on the system into which they are stocked. The cost associated with stocking also varies by product. Therefore, it is important to determine the contributions from different stocked products within a region or for an individual waterbody. The objectives of our research were to 1) compare the relative contribution of and total length and body condition at the time of capture at age-0 between stocked Walleye fry and fingerlings and naturally produced individuals; and 2) estimate and compare the economic costs of Walleye fry and fingerling production relative to their contribution to the age-0 catch in Lake McConaughy during 2022 and 2023.We collected 178 and 263 age-0 Walleyes from Lake McConaughy during the summer and fall of 2022 and 2023, respectively. Fingerling-stocked Walleye contributed 2.12 times in 2022 and 2.92 times more in 2023 than fry-stocked Walleye. Production cost estimates revealed that fry cost 1.08 and 1.35 times greater than fingerlings per stocking unit in 2022 and 2023, thus fingerlings were deemed the most cost-effective product in this study. Walleye stocked as fry were significantly longer at the time of collection in 2022 and were in significantly better condition in both years compared to fingerling stocked Walleye. Our results provide valuable insights for fisheries managers by offering a case study example as well as offering a practical approach to guide effective management decisions on which stocked product is most appropriate for other systems. Overall, this research enhances the existing literature on Walleye stocking in large reservoir systems, offering practical and useful information for effective management decisions.

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评估在中西部一个大型水库中放养马口鱼苗和鱼苗的贡献和经济成本

放养是一种常见的管理方法，用于维持自然繁殖率较低的马黑鱼种群，或在马黑鱼的原生地之外引入和维持马黑鱼种群。可以放养多种规格的马黑鱼（如鱼苗和鱼苗），不同规格的马黑鱼对马黑鱼年级强度的贡献可能不同，这取决于它们被放养到的系统。与放养相关的成本也因产品而异。因此，确定一个地区或单个水体中不同放养产品的贡献非常重要。我们的研究目标是：1）比较放养的马黑鱼鱼苗和鱼苗与自然生产的个体在捕获0龄马黑鱼时的相对贡献、总长度和身体状况；2）估算和比较马黑鱼鱼苗和鱼苗生产的经济成本与其在2022年和2023年麦科诺伊湖0龄马黑鱼捕获量中的贡献。与投放鱼苗相比，2022 年投放鱼苗的华利鱼的贡献率为 2.12 倍，2023 年为 2.92 倍。生产成本估算显示，在 2022 年和 2023 年，鱼苗的单位放养成本分别是鱼苗的 1.08 倍和 1.35 倍，因此在本研究中，鱼苗被认为是最具成本效益的产品。与投放鱼苗的马黑鱼相比，2022 年投放鱼苗的马黑鱼在采集时体长明显更长，而且这两年的状况也明显更好。我们的研究结果为渔业管理者提供了有价值的见解，既提供了一个案例研究实例，又提供了一种实用方法来指导有效的管理决策，即哪种放养产品最适合其他系统。总之，这项研究加强了现有的有关大型水库系统马口黑鱼放养的文献，为有效的管理决策提供了切实有用的信息。

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来源期刊

Fisheries Research 农林科学-渔业

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

16.70%

发文量

294

审稿时长

15 weeks

期刊介绍： This journal provides an international forum for the publication of papers in the areas of fisheries science, fishing technology, fisheries management and relevant socio-economics. The scope covers fisheries in salt, brackish and freshwater systems, and all aspects of associated ecology, environmental aspects of fisheries, and economics. Both theoretical and practical papers are acceptable, including laboratory and field experimental studies relevant to fisheries. Papers on the conservation of exploitable living resources are welcome. Review and Viewpoint articles are also published. As the specified areas inevitably impinge on and interrelate with each other, the approach of the journal is multidisciplinary, and authors are encouraged to emphasise the relevance of their own work to that of other disciplines. The journal is intended for fisheries scientists, biological oceanographers, gear technologists, economists, managers, administrators, policy makers and legislators.