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KDWP BIOLOGISTS COMPLETE FALL
FISH SAMPLING
Data collected for fishing forecast, future
fisheries management decisions
Dec 8, 2005 - PRATT -- For most outdoorsmen
and women, fall is the
time to hang up the fishing rod and dust off the rifle, shotgun,
or
bow. For the fisheries biologist, however, it's one of the busiest
times of the year, time to sample lakes to determine the health
of
fisheries. Fall is the best time to sample fish because it's
the end
of the growing season.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP)
has
completed its fall fish sampling, and biologists are in the process
of compiling information. This data is used for the following
year's
stocking requests, recommendations for future length and creel
limit
regulations, other management recommendations, and the Fishing
Forecast upon which anglers rely.
Across the state, 18 district fisheries biologist
annually sample 26 large reservoirs, 40 state fishing lakes,
and more
than 220 community lakes. During this time, they average 40 eight-
to
12-hour days on the water and in the office compiling and entering
data.
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 nets are massive,
and
each must be pulled onto a boat and the fish removed. Biologists
then
separate, count, weigh, and measure each fish, and record all
this
information, all the while taking care to get the biggest, most
desirable fish back in the water quickly.
A single biologist may weigh 10,000 fish each fall,
often in severe weather, contending with sharp spines, slippery
fish, rain, snow, and wind. Netting results are recorded on
waterproof paper or a laptop computer.
Computers have made data keeping much more accurate.
Biologists can enter data on the water and enter it into the
department's Aquatic Data Analysis System (ADAS) when they get
back
to the office. ADAS allows biologists to enter paper-recorded
testing
data into the system through a desktop computer or directly from
data
recorded on a laptop in the field, eliminating paperwork. They
can
then generate a report immediately that lets them know the population
dynamics of the lake tested and make management decisions --
from
stocking plans to length and creel limits -- in a timely fashion.
Another innovative tool fisheries biologists are
using
is the Fisheries Analysis and Simulation Tools (FAST) software
program, developed in conjunction with 20 other states. This
program
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.
Now that the 2005 fall fishing sampling is complete,
it
should be a few weeks before all data has been compiled and entered
into the system. Then anglers across Kansas can look forward
to the
2006 Kansas Fishing Forecast, which will be available on the
KDWP
website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.
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