Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Division of Forestry and Natural Resources

Committee Chair

Kyle J. Hartman

Committee Co-Chair

Stuart A. Welsh

Committee Member

Stuart A. Welsh

Committee Member

Katherine J. Zipfel

Abstract

In West Virginia, species of black bass are economically and ecologically important and support popular fisheries. In the state’s large, navigable river systems, recent information suggests that anglers consider these fisheries diminished relative to their historic stocks. This study sought to describe the population characteristics of Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted Bass in the upper Ohio River drainage and evaluate possible management actions. Low relative abundances coupled with poor growth estimates for Largemouth and Spotted Bass suggests that a suite of environmental and anthropogenic factors may be reducing the quality of their recreational fisheries. Conversely, demographic estimates produced for Smallmouth Bass are average relative to rangewide estimates, suggesting that this species may be better suited for these habitats. Future research should attempt to determine the factors influencing the population characteristics of black bass species in the upper Ohio River drainage.

To evaluate current length limit regulations, length, weight, and age information were collected from Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass sampled in the upper Ohio River drainage. These data were integrated into yield-per-recruit models to assess the impacts of growth overfishing under varying rates of exploitation and across several common minimum length-limits (MLL): no MLL, 10”, 12” and 14”. Data suggests that both Largemouth and Smallmouth fisheries in these systems are at risk when no length-limit is present, while yield is generally maximized under a 305-mm (12”) MLL under moderate rates (0.1-0.4) of conditional fishing mortality. Results from this study should be taken into consideration when enacting future length-limit regulations in these systems, although more precise estimates of mortality for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass should be collected first.

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