Restoring a LegacyLegac

by Carl Richardson so small that you need a micro- scope to see them. You can Paddlefish (Polyodon spatula) imagine how much plankton is have been around for more needed to feed a 30- to 50- than 150 million years. In pound paddlefish! that time, ice ages have come In the U.S., paddlefish are and gone, temperatures have found in the large, free-flowing risen and fallen, and oceans rivers of the Mississippi River have expanded and contracted. Basin. In Pennsylvania, this Countless species were unable watershed includes the Ohio, to adapt to these major cli- Allegheny and Monongahela matic changes and became rivers. extinct. But somehow, paddle- Paddlefish prefer deep wa- fish adapted and survived— ter (more than 18 feet) and that is, until the 1800s. slow current. Ideal places in- Human activities spread clude river backwaters, ox bow over just a few generations lakes, and areas of reduced cur- during this time severely af- rent. Often big islands, bridge fected paddlefish populations. pilings, shoals and sandbars Paddlefish could survive many provide such sheltered areas. natural changes, but not those Not much is known about imposed by humans. By 1919, the paddlefish’s spawning hab- paddlefish were extirpated its. We do know that spawning activity is triggered by a rise in

from Pennsylvania waters. photo-Art Michaels This means that paddlefish temperature and an increase in Area 8 Fisheries Technician Gary Smith shows a moderate- lived in other waters but not in water flow. Males become sexu- sized paddlefish. Paddlefish grow rapidly. Growth records Pennsylvania. Extirpation is ally mature at six to nine years from mainstem Mississippi River fish show that paddlefish of age. Females mature later, one step closer to extinction. reach 40 inches in two years. Extirpation, though, between eight and 12 years of doesn’t mean extinction is cer- age. As water temperatures rise tain. The Fish & Boat Commission is taking steps, along near 60 degrees, paddlefish move to clean gravel bars. The with conservation partners, to restore paddlefish in Pennsyl- results of radio tagging studies on the Mississippi and Mis- vania to the Ohio River and its tributaries. souri rivers show that paddlefish migrate as much as 100 miles to suitable spawning habitat. The female broadcasts her ripe Life of a paddlefish eggs into the water, where they are fertilized and settle to the bottom. Mature females may release at least 10 pounds of With their elongated snout, or rostrum, paddlefish look eggs. Scientists are uncertain about the time between spawn- a little prehistoric. The rostrum, often about a third of the ing. Some studies suggest that it may be as long as eight years fish’s entire body length, isn’t used to dig in the mud, as some until a mature female will spawn again. used to believe. Scientists now believe the rostrum helps Paddlefish grow rapidly. Growth records collected from paddlefish locate food, directs the water flow into the mouth, fish on the mainstem of the Mississippi River show they and assists with balance. reached sizes of 40 inches in two years. The world record is Paddlefish feed on zooplankton. Most zooplankton are a 142-pound monster taken from the Missouri River in www.fish.state.pa.us Pennsylvania Angler & Boater, January-February 2003 17 Montana! There are his- toric photos taken along the Mississippi River of fish in the 200-pound class! Paddlefish are also long-lived, with some liv- ing more than 30 years! Declining populations At the end of the 1800s, the large rivers on which paddlefish depend were altered. These large river systems fed the growing country. Our rivers served as a dump- ing ground for pollution and were diverted to pro- vide power and transpor- tation. Dams became barriers to spring spawn- ing migrations. Dams This machine inserts a wire tag into the paddlefish’s rostrum. Before stocking, Commission staff members tag each paddlefish. The tag indicates where and when the fish was hatched and also altered flow patterns. stocked. If the fish is later collected, a tag detector will indicate the presence of the wire tag. The As flow patterns changed, tag can then be recovered without killing the fish, and the origin of the fish and other vital data so did the river bottom. can be determined. Dredging shipping chan- nels, also to aid transportation, further altered prime paddle- In Pennsylvania, paddlefish are currently classified as fish habitat. Paddlefish stocks declined throughout much of extirpated. their range as early as 1900. In addition to Pennsylvania, paddlefish are considered extirpated in three states in their range: New York, Maryland Overfishing and Virginia also classify the paddlefish as extirpated. In its About the same time paddlefish stocks declined in the remaining range of 22 states, 11 of those states classify Mississippi River, fish populations of the Atlantic Basin also paddlefish as endangered, threatened or a species of special declined. Fish populations of American shad, striped bass concern. and sturgeon were declining along the East Coast. At that time sturgeon were harvested to collect their eggs (caviar). As Paddlefish comeback the populations of sturgeon declined, commercial interests, Paddlefish populations are now bouncing back through- and the palates of our growing country, looked for a substi- out the Mississippi River Basin. This comeback is in large part tute. They found it in the paddlefish. Each female paddlefish caused by improvements in water quality, the result of federal could have as much as 10 to 20 pounds of eggs. Thus, clean-water regulations passed in the 1970s. This improve- overfishing was added to the pressure on already declining ment in water quality has given the paddlefish a chance to paddlefish numbers. return to waters where it originally swam. Biologists refer to Paddlefish caviar is in demand even today. Even though this as an expanding population, or a re-established popula- the price can fluctuate, a pound of paddlefish caviar can sell tion. Each year, biologists document gains made by paddle- for more than $200. That’s about half the price of domestic fish as they return to their native waters. sturgeon caviar. Good paddlefish habitat now exists here in Pennsylvania, on the lower reaches of the Allegheny and Monongahela Extirpated in four states rivers and the upper Ohio River. Paddlefish have been found Before 1900, paddlefish ranged well into Pennsylvania. farther downstream on the Ohio River, but expanding popu- They were found in the Ohio, Allegheny, Clarion and lations have not yet made their way into Pennsylvania. Left Kiskiminetas rivers in Pennsylvania. The last documentation alone, it could be many years before populations increase of paddlefish in Pennsylvania waters was in 1919. enough and fish move into Pennsylvania waters.

18 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater, January-February 2003 www.fish.state.pa.us Back after 90 years Removing barriers to In 1991, the Fish & Boat paddlefish migration Commission set out to give Dams that provide water for paddlefish a helping hand in re- navigation locks can be barriers turning to Pennsylvania waters. to migrating paddlefish. Radio Fingerling paddlefish were first telemetry studies show that in stocked in the Ohio and Allegh- certain conditions, paddlefish eny rivers as part of the move through navigation locks. Commission’s Paddlefish Res- Essentially, they “lock through” toration Plan. This stocking rep- with boat traffic. However, these resented the first time that same studies show that fish hang paddlefish swam in the Com- Tags used for paddlefish (photo above) are eighth- up at the lock. Currently, the monwealth in more than 90 inch long sections of hair-thin wire. After insertion Commission is negotiating with years! (photo below), a tag detector (blue box in picture the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- The Commission’s restora- foreground) confirms the insertion and later neers to ensure passage for mi- tion plan for paddlefish includes determines the tag’s presence when the paddlefish grating paddlefish. three elements: Supplemental is recovered. stocking, removing barriers to paddlefish migration and monitoring the Pennsylvania popu- Monitoring the Pennsylvania population lation. In 2002, the Fish & Boat Commission, through the Penn State Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, began an Supplemental stocking intensive two-year study to evaluate the stocking program and paddlefish population. Nearly all species restoration programs include the supple- mental stocking of young. The young may be collected from healthy populations. In many cases, they are grown in hatcheries to provide young for reintroduction or restoration. Adults in healthy populations serve as what biologists call brood stock, or parents, to you and me. The Fish & Boat Commission’s Linesville fish hatchery plays a key role in the paddlefish reintroduction program. About 10 weeks after Linesville receives the eggs, the paddle- fish have grown to about 10 inches and are ready for stocking. Stocking usually occurs in early August. Before stocking, though, Commission staff members tag each paddlefish with a tiny coded wire, hair-thin and only a sixteenth-inch long. The coded wire, which indicates where and when the fish was hatched and stocked, is inserted into the tip of the rostrum. If the fish is later collected, a tag detector will indicate the presence of the wire tag. The tag can then be recovered without killing the fish, and the origin of the fish and other vital data can be determined. The tagging effort is part of a multi-state study through the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Research Association (MICRA). MICRA provides funding for the wire tags and equipment. Each August, the Commission stocks paddlefish in the Ohio and Allegheny rivers. These fish are stocked in the Ohio River between the Dashields Lock and Dam and the Emsworth Lock and Dam. On the Allegheny, paddlefish are stocked between Locks and Dams 2 and 3 and Locks and Dams 4 and 5. The Commission has stocked nearly 75,000 fingerlings since 1991. If they survived, the first planting’s fish would be sexually mature in 2001 or 2002.

photos-Art Michaels photos-Art www.fish.state.pa.us Pennsylvania Angler & Boater, January-February 2003 19 photo- Mark Giovannetti/stammphoto.com

Biologists from Penn State and California University of paddlefish sighting came from the base of Loyalhanna Dam. Pennsylvania will be looking for paddlefish and conducting This means that the fish moved not only up the Allegheny further studies on fingerling stocking. When paddlefish are River, but into the Kiskiminetas River as well! collected, they will be checked for wire tags. If wire tags are not found, we can be quite sure that the fish didn’t come from our stocking efforts. This study will also use radio telemetry Restoring the legacy to study the movements of stocked fish and the survival rate For as much as we take from our rivers, it is important to of stocked fingerlings and yearlings. The evaluation study is give something back. It is right for us to return this great fish funded through a Wildlife Restoration and Conservation to its place in our waters. With diligent monitoring of water Program grant, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife pollution and persistent cleanup efforts, we can continue to Service. improve water quality for ourselves and for the paddlefish. How you can help Since 1992, anglers and others along the Three Rivers WEB Resources have been reporting paddlefish “sightings.” Some paddlefish were inadvertently snagged by anglers and released. (Remem- www.fish.state.pa.us. ber that in Pennsylvania there is no open season on paddle- Click on Pennsylvania Fishes book online. fish.) Three of those paddlefish were captured during other www.greenworks.tv/radio/todaystory/20020604.htm. river study projects. Another two paddlefish were found dead View information on a show segment on PA’s paddlefish along the shore, and one was spotted swimming below a dam. restoration. With each successive year, the average size of the fish sighted www.nativefish.org. has grown. This alone is cause for hope. General information on paddlefish. You can help the paddlefish restoration effort by contact- www.umesc.usgs.gov/aquatic/fish/paddlefish/main.html. ing the Commission when you see or catch a paddlefish. Information on radio telemetry studies on the upper Provide us with the date, location and approximate size of the Mississippi River. fish. Your information will help us evaluate not only the wwwaux.cerc.cr.usgs.gov/MICRA/Index.htm. success rate of stocking efforts, but also fish movements. One

20 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater, January-February 2003 www.fish.state.pa.us