H1>Rainbow trout feed American economy
DROUGHT HELPS BOOST FISH POPULATIONS
By Art Lander JR.
HERALD-LEADER OUTDOORS WRITER
May is one of the best fishing months of the year in Kentucky.
With spawning completed, fish become more active and feed heavily, as water temperatures warm into the 70s and weather patterns stabilize.
If you're not convinced it's time to go fishing, here's some fishing news to chew on:
Trout fishing in cool-water rivers and tailwaters has a special appeal. It's a combination of all that moving, clear water, beautifully colored fish, and the wild lands associated with cool-water streams.
We find it easy to praise the rainbow trout, a fish named for its iridescent pinkish-red stripe. Anglers feel a spiritual reverence for these sleek, powerful fish.
The rainbow trout's early scientific name made reference to the mythological Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris, who personified the union of sky and earth.
But the rainbow trout produced in our national fish hatcheries, and stocked in our waterways, also fuel an economic engine that benefits resource management agencies, governments, businesses and tourism-based communities.
A new peer-reviewed study by economist James Caudill of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service detailed the economic impact of trout fishing, based on stocking information from national fish hatcheries that produce rainbow trout, and the value of the dollar in 2004. Here are some highlights:
In 2004, national fish hatcheries raised 9.4 million rainbow trout. In all, 70 national hatcheries produced rainbow trout, but hatcheries in 11 states (including Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery below Lake Cumberland) specialize in their culture.
"Three of our national fish hatcheries (Ennis, in Montana; Erwin, in Tennessee; and White Sulphur Springs, in West Virginia) are brood stock hatcheries," said Craig Springer, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "At Ennis, for example, eight strains of rainbow trout are produced. Once the eggs are fertilized, they're shipped off to other hatcheries, where the fish are raised up to stocking size."
In the U.S., trout fishing provided nearly four million angler-days on the water, and generates a total economic output of $325.1 million.
Retail goods and services associated with fishing for rainbow trout, such as food, gas, lodging, rods and reels, and bait and tackle amounted to $172.7 million. That spending provided employment for 3,502 people and income of $80 million.
Wage earners paid taxes to public treasuries in the following amounts: $2.9 million in state income taxes and $10.6 million in federal income taxes.
Taxpayers who fund the National Fish Hatchery System paid $5.4 million to produce the 9.4 million rainbow trout. "Every one dollar spent on rainbow trout production rises up through the economy fueling $32.20 in retail sales and $36.88 in net economic value," said Springer.
Kentucky's Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery produced 883,985 rainbow trout that were stocked in 2004. This fishery created 401,811 angler-days on the water, which in turn generated $15.9 million in retail expenditures and $31.2 million in total economic output. This spending provided jobs for 318 people.
"The culture of rainbow trout by government biologists dates back to 1871, and the U.S. Fish Commission, which was started by President Grant," Springer said. "That's some 135 years of experience, science and technology."
How to culture rainbow trout is well-understood, but not all fish are created equal. A farm-raised rainbow trout is not the same rainbow trout raised for stocking in high-quality free-flowing streams. "Rainbow trout at national fish hatcheries are managed by strain and defined management purposes," Springer said. "Some rainbow trout are meant for put-and-take streams, and others are stocked for longevity and large size."
Springer said research and propagation is now under way on the Harrison Lake strain of rainbow trout, which is resistant to the Whirling Disease, a neurological disease which has impacted wild trout streams in the West.
"Some longstanding agreements to culture rainbow trout (for state agencies and Native American tribal groups) date back 70 years," said Springer.
"Trout fishing is important in the U.S."
Droughts can be beneficial to fish
While droughts can be disastrous to farmers and play havoc on municipal water supplies, they can be beneficial to fish in large rivers, improving spawning success and influencing habitat in positive ways.
"Last year's drought helped rivers and streams tremendously," said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "We had a good spawn for shad in the Kentucky River and the Ohio River, a good largemouth bass spawn and an excellent white bass spawn, and our hybrid striped bass and striped bass populations are in great shape in the Ohio River."
Clear water last spring and summer created optimum water conditions for spawning and lower stream levels in the fall improve gamefish survival by concentrating predator and prey together.
Black bass, walleye, crappie, white bass, hybrid striped bass, muskellunge and catfish all benefit from the crowded conditions. Shad and other baitfish do not have as many areas to hide and predator fish feed heavily because the pickings are easy. This puts gamefish in much better shape to survive winter and reproduce successfully in spring.
"Smallmouth bass in streams are doing really well," Buynak said. "There was a really good spawn in (Central Kentucky's) Elkhorn Creek last year. Stream fishing should be excellent in the coming years."
Droughts lower water levels and expose normally submerged banks to sunlight. This promotes drying and oxidation that firms up the bottom, creating better spawning areas when levels rise again. This especially benefits fish that spawn in shallow water, such as bluegill, redear sunfish and crappie.
The drying and oxidation of the exposed stream beds during droughts also releases stored nutrients in the soil once water levels return to normal.
For years fisheries managers have used draw-downs of lakes, which simulate drought conditions, to help correct fish population that have become out of balance (prey to predator ratios).
Nature did the same thing last year, and anglers will reap the rewards as a result.
Roads reopen in Boone Forest
Two roads in the Red River Gorge area of Daniel Boone National Forest which provide access to streams stocked with trout, have been re-opened.
The two roads, Forest Service Road 9A and 9B, in northeastern Powell County, off Ky. 613, have been closed since last winter because of damage from flooding.
About six miles of the roads were washed out or heavily damaged and required reconstruction.
"The Indian Creek and the East Fork of the Indian Creek area is very popular for dispersed camping, fishing, hiking and swimming," said Dave Manner, district ranger of the newly named Cumberland District Ranger District, the former Morehead and Stanton Ranger districts.
Manner said plans are under way for additional improvements to these roads over the next couple of years, including the removal or replacement of some low-water crossings in order to eliminate barriers to fish movement. |
