Growth and contribution of stocked channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818): the importance of measuring post-stocking performance

Journal of Applied Ichthyology
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Abstract

In this study it was sought to quantify post-stocking growth, survival, and contribution of advanced size (178 mm total length [TL]) channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fingerlings, something rarely done. Channel catfish populations were evaluated before (May 2010) and after (May to August 2011 and 2012) stocking. Relative abundance, stocking contribution, and growth were different (< 0.05) in the two study impoundments (lakes Lone Chimney and Greenleaf, Oklahoma). For fish stocked in Lake Lone Chimney, stocking contribution was lower (3–35%), and average length and weight of stocked fish by age-2 reached 230 mm TL and 85 g, whereas the stocking contribution (84–98%) and growth in length (340 mm TL) and weight (280 g) were higher by age-2 in Lake Greenleaf. Given these unambiguous differences of post-stocking performance, benchmark metrics that represent population-level information such as relative abundance and average length and weight of the sample masked these significant differences, highlighting the importance of marking hatchery-fish and then following them through time to determine the effectiveness of stocking. These results suggest that stock enhancement programmes would benefit from studies that quantify post-stocking performance of hatchery fish.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Growth and contribution of stocked channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818): the importance of measuring post-stocking performance
Series title Journal of Applied Ichthyology
DOI 10.1111/jai.12797
Volume 31
Issue 4
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 9 p.
First page 695
Last page 703
Country United States
State Oklahoma
Other Geospatial Lake Greenleaf, Lake Lone Chimney
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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