History of Bass Stocking in Ontario
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Bass Stocking and Transfers: An Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review T. A. Lasenby and S. J. Kerr Fisheries Section Fish and Wildlife Branch Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources December 2000 This publication should be cited as follows: Lasenby, T. A. and S. J. Kerr. 2000. Bass transfers and stocking: An annotated bibliography and literature review. Fish and Wildlife Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Peterborough, Ontario. 207 p. + appendices. Printed in Ontario, Canada (0.3 k P. R. 00 15 12) MNR 51461 ISBN 0-7794-0488-2 Copies of this publication are available from: Fish and Wildlife Branch Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources P. O. Box 7000 300 Water Street Peterborough, Ontario K9J 8M5 CetteCette publication publication spécialisée spécialisée n’est n’ estdisponible disponible qu’en qu’en anglais angl Cover drawing by Ruth E. Grant, Brockville, Ontario. Preface This bibliography and literature review is the fourth in a series of reference documents developed in conjunction with a review of fish stocking policies and guidelines for the Province of Ontario. It has been prepared to summarize information on the current state of knowledge regarding the stocking and transfer of bass (smallmouth and largemouth) in a form which can be readily utilized by field staff and stocking proponents. Material cited in this bibliography includes papers published in scientific journals, magazines and periodicals as well as “gray” literature such as file reports from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) field offices. Unpublished literature was obtained by soliciting information (i.e., unpublished data and file reports) from field biologists from across Ontario. The majority of the published information was obtained from a comprehensive literature search conducted in the MNR corporate library in Peterborough. Twenty-one major fisheries journals were reviewed as part of this exercise. These included: Aquaculture (1972-1998), California Fish and Game (1971- 1999), Copeia (1913-1999), Environmental Biology of Fishes (1976-1999), Fishery Bulletin (1963-1999), Fisheries Management (1975-1984), Journal of Freshwater Ecology (1981-1999), New York Fish and Game Journal (1954-1985), North American Journal of Fisheries Management (1981-1999), Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada/Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (1950-1999), Progressive Fish Culturist (1940-1999), and Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (1929-1999). Material was also compiled from other journals such as the Journal of Wildlife Management, Fisheries, Sylva, Journal of Freshwater Fishing, Wisconsin Conservation Bulletin and Canadian Fish Culturist. Searches were also made of other publications including Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Transactions of the Annual North American Fish and Wildlife Conference, Transactions of the Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, United States Department of the Interior Fisheries Technical Papers, FAO Fisheries Technical Papers and Circulars, and reports published under the Canadian Technical Report Series of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. A search of the World Wide Web was conducted resulting in abstracts from papers presented at Division meetings of the American Fisheries Society as well as the 2000 Annual Meeting. Some information was acquired through a search of the Fish and Fisheries Worldwide Database (1971-present) via the Internet. Included are over 590 citations, of which over 425 involve a synopsis or annotation. Many citations from State Departments and were not readily available for review. Abstracts from published papers have been included wherever possible. In cases where abstracts were unavailable, pertinent information from the document was extracted to provide a summary of the findings. Finally, in some cases, we were unable to acquire a copy of the document and have simply included the citation. (i) Table of Contents Preface...............................................................................................................................(i) Table of Contents .............................................................................................................(ii) History of Bass Stocking in Ontario....................................................................................1 Synthesis of Selected Literature ..........................................................................................5 Annotated Bibliography ....................................................................................................25 Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................191 Subject Key .....................................................................................................................193 Subject Index...................................................................................................................195 Appendix 1. Largemouth bass stocking in Ontario waters, 1930-1999. Appendix 2. Smallmouth bass stocking in Ontario waters, 1888-1999. Appendix 3. Records of selected bass transfers and introductions in Ontario waters based on a 2000 survey of OMNR field staff. Appendix 4. A summary of post-stocking survival rates of largemouth bass reported from various North American waters. Appendix 5. A summary of post-stocking survival rates of smallmouth bass reported from various North American waters. Appendix 6. Contribution of stocked largemouth bass to selected recreational fisheries in North America. Appendix 7. Contribution of stocked smallmouth bass to selected recreational fisheries in North America. (ii) History of Bass Stocking in Ontario History of Bass Stocking in Ontario The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are two of the most popular sportfish in North America. They are often referred to collectively as black bass and the distinction between the two species is not always apparent in early Ontario fisheries records. The stocking of bass began primarily as the transfer of adult fish in the later part of the nineteenth century. The first recorded transplant by the federal government occurred in 1873 and transfers occurred irregularly into the 1900s. The early production of bass fry for stocking occurred in a federal hatchery. Bass were transferred and planted in response to public demand and stocking was seen initially as a cost-effective method of providing food for local fishermen while simultaneously ensuring recreation for tourists. The first Canadian attempt at artificial smallmouth bass propagation occurred in 1872 at the Newcastle Hatchery (MacCrimmon 1967). In 1880, the Newcastle facility produced one million smallmouth bass fry which were distributed into inland lakes (Anonymous 1965). One of the earliest federal records of bass stocking concerned the Newcastle Hatchery, which distributed 50,000 fry to various Ontario waters in 1884. Attempts were made in 1888, at the same hatchery, to overwinter parent bass since pond-rearing was still in the experimental stages. In 1889, 30,000 black bass fry were planted into Howard Lake, 20,000 were planted into rearing ponds at Newcastle, while 30,000 went to a Mr. Thomas Elliott for personal stocking. The Newcastle Hatchery was in operation until 1914. The facility at Belleville (also known as the Bay of Quinte bass ponds), which reared smallmouth bass and supplied fry to various locations, operated from 1901-1913 (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources 2000). During this time the hatchery supplied thousands of fry to nearby waterbodies, as well as sending a portion to other provinces (Anonymous 1903). Records of largemouth bass transplants dated 1895 detail projects carried out by the federal Fisheries Department in conjunction with the Crown Lands Department of Ontario in the Kenora area of northwestern Ontario. Adult bass were removed from Brooks and Bass lakes as well as Lake of the Woods and 1,000 were planted into each of Otter, Flint, Sturgeon and Whitefish lakes. Three hundred fish were also placed into Rossland and Oster-Sound lakes. A further transfer of between two and three hundred fish was made to Lake Deception from the Nipigon River (Anonymous 1896). Some other early stocking projects involving smallmouth bass into Ontario waters are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Historical stocking of smallmouth bass in selected Ontario waterbodies. Year Waterbody (County) Life Stage Number Stocked Reference 1901 Muskoka Lake (Muskoka) Unknown 1,205 Anonymous (1914) 1901 Lake Rosseau (Muskoka & Parry Unknown 700 Anonymous (1914) Sound) 1901 Lake Joseph (Muskoka & Parry Unknown 1,052 Anonymous (1914) Sound) 1901 Lake Couchiching (Simcoe & Unknown 436 Anonymous (1914) Ontario) 1901 Stoney Lake (Peterborough) Unknown 751 Anonymous (1914) 1 History of Bass Stocking in Ontario Table 1 (cont’d) Year Waterbody (County) Life Stage Number Stocked Reference 1901 Lake Simcoe (Ontario, Simcoe & Unknown 603 Anonymous (1914) York) 1901 Holland River (Simcoe & York) Unknown 387 Anonymous (1914) 1901 Golden Lake (Renfrew) Unknown 372 Anonymous (1914) 1901 Grand River (Haldimand) Unknown 674 Anonymous (1914) 1902 Long Lake at Rat Portage (Kenora Unknown 460 Anonymous (1914) District) 1902 Lake of Bays (Muskoka) Unknown 500 Anonymous (1914) 1904 Balsam Lake (Victoria) Unknown 400 Anonymous (1914)