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Pond Management Chapter 21

Pond Management Chapter 21. Ponds or Small Impoundments. <2.5 hectares or 6 acres Usually privately owned Various uses Some especially for fish production Others for irrigation, livestock watering. North American Ponds. Fish Management Goal.

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Pond Management Chapter 21

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  1. Pond ManagementChapter 21

  2. Ponds or Small Impoundments • <2.5 hectares or 6 acres • Usually privately owned • Various uses • Some especially for fish production • Others for irrigation, livestock watering

  3. North American Ponds

  4. Fish Management Goal • Provide annual crops of harvestable-size fish (within constraints of pond fertility) • Sustained or improved fishing • Favorable cost/benefit ratio • High catch rates, above-average sizes

  5. Fish Management Goal • Problem - private ownership • Owner responsible for implementing management practices

  6. Fish Management Goal • Lack of understanding or unwillingness to do what is necessary • Leads to unbalanced fish populations and poor fishing

  7. Dependence on Stocking • Artificial habitats almost entirely dependent on stocking • Warmwater • Southern - bass/bluegill • Northern - bass/other • Coldwater - trout

  8. Stocking/Management Options • Provide good fishery quickly • Meet needs of pond owner • Relate to physical, monetary limits

  9. All-Purpose Option • Good bass, bluegill fishing (maybe also catfish) • Often use slot limit for bass

  10. Harvest Quota Option • Remove set number or biomass of bass • Stop harvest once quota is reached

  11. Panfish Option • Focus only on panfish - usually bluegill • Single-species fish community

  12. Big Bass Option • Maximum size limit for bass (larger fish must be returned) • Lots of little bluegill (children fishery)

  13. Catfish-Only Option • Most often used only in muddy or small ponds • Single-species fish community

  14. Bass-Only Option • Focus only on bass (usually largemouth) • Single-species fish community

  15. Trout Option • Rainbow trout • Coldwater pond - usually spring-fed

  16. Stocking Rates for Fingerlings Species Number per hectare Largemouth bass 250 Bluegill 2,500 Channel catfish 500 (single), 250 (multi) Trout 600 (west), 1,500 (east)

  17. Growth Management • Predators • Harvest • Spawning • Supplemental feed • Fertilization • Liming

  18. Balance? • Can balance be expected? • Artificial system - low stability

  19. Some Targets • Relative weight - Wr • Wr of all species should be close to 100

  20. Some Targets • Proportional stock density • Quality/stock X 100 • Largemouth bass - 40-60% • Bluegill - 20-40%

  21. Size to Stock

  22. Some Targets • Biomass index • F:C ratio • F = forage fish • C = carnivore • 3.0-6.0

  23. Managing Old Ponds • Do nothing • Corrective stocking - usually predator • Reclamation

  24. Managing New Ponds • Use • Size - area, depth • Drain • Fish cover • Underwater structure • Macrophytes

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