12-21-2017, 02:51 PM
[quote MACMAN]They are so long lived and growth rates are so slow, removing them to make “room” for other fish to fill their spot does not seem viable.[/quote]
Ask yourself a couple questions:
A. Why are the growth rates slow?
B. What can be done to improve growth rates?
The comment from MacMan is exactly why fisheries managers struggle when the general angling community gets involved. No offense to MacMan -- but a lack of understanding of fish biology often causes more harm than good. Even with good intentions, which I believe MacMan has.
[quote "A Simple 4-Step Method to Manage For Quality Fishing"]
Fact or myth? -- Catch -and-release fishing regulations allow fish to live longer and thus, grow larger. Acceptance of catch-and-release practices among many anglers has generally been good and much needed...
...In simple terms, fish can be caught, utilized, and enjoyed more than once. On the other hand, the assumption that released fish are predestined to become large with old age is false...
...The size-limiting factor is often not age (or time) but the environment. Fish grow to match environmental conditions. Catch-and-release can lead to over-crowded conditions and small fish. In many cases, some harvest is beneficial and needed to maintain quality-size fish.
[/quote]
those "old" "slow growing" fish are only slow growing because the environment is too crowded at those smaller sizes! Growth rates will increase if you remove fish and reduce the overall population. This is not a theory, but a proven concept!
When looking at age of fish, and average growth rates you have to remember that it is an average! That 40" goliath might be 35 years old. He might have an average growth rate of <1" per year. However, that fish very well could have grown to 35" in 6 years, and only 5" over the next 29 years.
Get those fish growth rates increased, and you'll replace those "old slow growing" big fish FAST!
[quote "A Simple 4-Step Method to Manage For Quality Fishing"]
Consider another example. The world's largest cutthroat trout historically came from Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Roughly 80 years ago [~1924], some eggs or fry from Pyramid Lake were moved to a small stream on Pilot Mountain near Wendover, Nevada-Utah. This new population persisted for about 50 years before being discovered again in 1978. Although there were no individual fish in the stream that exceeded 10 inches, once they were put into small ponds with increased forage and feed they grew dramatically to over 36 inches and 14 pounds...
...although these fish had persisted in the small stream for many generations and their genetics and growth potential may have been somewhat altered, they still remained amazingly adaptive and responsive when they were again removed from the restrictive small stream habitat. This most recent change occured with fish taken from the stream, not even requiring the next generation to complete the transformation to 14-pound trout.
[/quote]
If you change the environment in FG by reducing the population size, you'd have more big fish. Not fewer.
[signature]
Ask yourself a couple questions:
A. Why are the growth rates slow?
B. What can be done to improve growth rates?
The comment from MacMan is exactly why fisheries managers struggle when the general angling community gets involved. No offense to MacMan -- but a lack of understanding of fish biology often causes more harm than good. Even with good intentions, which I believe MacMan has.
[quote "A Simple 4-Step Method to Manage For Quality Fishing"]
Fact or myth? -- Catch -and-release fishing regulations allow fish to live longer and thus, grow larger. Acceptance of catch-and-release practices among many anglers has generally been good and much needed...
...In simple terms, fish can be caught, utilized, and enjoyed more than once. On the other hand, the assumption that released fish are predestined to become large with old age is false...
...The size-limiting factor is often not age (or time) but the environment. Fish grow to match environmental conditions. Catch-and-release can lead to over-crowded conditions and small fish. In many cases, some harvest is beneficial and needed to maintain quality-size fish.
[/quote]
those "old" "slow growing" fish are only slow growing because the environment is too crowded at those smaller sizes! Growth rates will increase if you remove fish and reduce the overall population. This is not a theory, but a proven concept!
When looking at age of fish, and average growth rates you have to remember that it is an average! That 40" goliath might be 35 years old. He might have an average growth rate of <1" per year. However, that fish very well could have grown to 35" in 6 years, and only 5" over the next 29 years.
Get those fish growth rates increased, and you'll replace those "old slow growing" big fish FAST!
[quote "A Simple 4-Step Method to Manage For Quality Fishing"]
Consider another example. The world's largest cutthroat trout historically came from Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Roughly 80 years ago [~1924], some eggs or fry from Pyramid Lake were moved to a small stream on Pilot Mountain near Wendover, Nevada-Utah. This new population persisted for about 50 years before being discovered again in 1978. Although there were no individual fish in the stream that exceeded 10 inches, once they were put into small ponds with increased forage and feed they grew dramatically to over 36 inches and 14 pounds...
...although these fish had persisted in the small stream for many generations and their genetics and growth potential may have been somewhat altered, they still remained amazingly adaptive and responsive when they were again removed from the restrictive small stream habitat. This most recent change occured with fish taken from the stream, not even requiring the next generation to complete the transformation to 14-pound trout.
[/quote]
If you change the environment in FG by reducing the population size, you'd have more big fish. Not fewer.
[signature]