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FALL FISH SAMPLING HELPS BIOLOGISTS
HELP ANGLERS
Data used to compile 2008 Kansas
Fishing Forecast, guide fisheries management
Nov. 28, 2007 - Each year, the Kansas Department
of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) raises and stocks millions of fish
throughout the state, providing anglers with special opportunities
to catch a wide variety of species. To monitor the health of
fisheries and help anglers find the best places to fish, KDWP
fisheries biologists spend the better part of each fall sampling
lakes throughout the state. This is the best time to sample fish
because it's the end of the growing season.
Biologists have completed the 2008 sampling and
are in the process of compiling results. This data is used for
the following year's stocking requests, recommendations for future
length and creel limit regulations, other management recommendations,
as well as the annual Fishing Forecast upon which anglers rely.
Across the state, 18 district fisheries biologists
annually sample 26 large reservoirs, 40 state fishing lakes,
and more than 220 community lakes. Because of times constraints
or other circumstances, not every lake is sampled each year.
In September, fisheries biologists may use electroshocking
for bass, and in October and November, gill-nets and traps are
used to sample all sportfish. The massive nets are pulled onto
a boat and the fish removed. Biologists then count, weigh, and
measure each fish and record this information, taking care to
get the fish back in the water quickly. Netting results are recorded
on waterproof paper or a laptop computer.
With a laptop, biologists can enter data on the
water, then enter it directly into the department's Aquatic Data
Analysis System (ADAS) when they get back to the office, eliminating
paperwork. ADAS also allows biologists to enter paper-recorded
testing data into the system through a desktop computer. They
can then compare results with past years' data, which lets them
know the population dynamics of the lake tested and make management
decisions, from stocking plans to length and creel limits.
Another innovative tool fisheries biologists use
is the Fisheries Analysis and Simulation Tools (FAST) software
program, developed in conjunction with 20 other states. This
computer application allows the field biologist to use data from
the ADAS system and separate age and growth testing to predict
what would happen if certain length or creel limits were imposed
on a given lake. Tools such as this not only take much of the
guesswork out of managing a lake, they allow biologists to spend
more time on other projects, such as habitat development.
Now that sampling is complete, anglers across Kansas
can look forward to the 2008 Kansas Fishing Forecast, which will
be available on the KDWP website in early January.
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