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<br />352 <br /> <br />CHAPTER 14 <br /> <br />fyke nets) are effective only in shallow waters since fish often swim over the leads <br />in deeper water. Seines and trawls may have some promise for control in special <br />situations but those gears require a relatively smooth bottom, free of snags (a <br />condition rare in most waters), to be fished properly. In small farm ponds with <br />smooth bottoms, seines can be used effectively. Wing nets and trap nets are <br />effective for crappies, bullhcads, sunfish, and gizzard shad in shallow waters. <br />Passive gear such as gill ncts and trammel nets are effective on various species of <br />fish when the fish are active. Weirs can be effective in streams when fish are <br />migrating, but require cleaning of waterborne debris from the mesh. <br />The main drawback in using nets is that they require a great deal of human <br />effort, and are rather expensive equipment that must be repaired or replaced fairly <br />often. Nets may also cause some mortality of desirable game fish. Commercial <br />fishers use nets designed to catch certain sizes of fish, but are seldom designed for <br />control of a given species. Usually catches will be largest at the beginning of the <br />netting operation. As the fish population declines, the catch per unit effort will <br />drop making netting inefficient. <br /> <br />14.7 CONCLUSION <br /> <br />If a fish species is considered undesirable, a variety of management methods <br />(e.g., chemical, biological, or mechanical) should be considered to achieve <br />carefully planned and predetermined objectives. The goals and objectives that are <br />determined for control of undesirable species must be realistic in terms of success <br />that may be achieved and costs related to benefits. Complete control of undesir- <br />able fish is seldom possible and partial controls must remove enough of the <br />undesirable fish population so that competition or predation on desired fish are <br />reduced. Control programs should be carefully evaluated to determine if reason- <br />able predictability of the outcome of the control method is possible. <br />Fisheries managers must be flexible to increase or decrease management efforts <br />depending on the response of the target fish population. Control, using the most <br />effective methodes), should be applied at a time and location when the pest species <br />is most vulnerable. At the same time, control should be implemented when there <br />is the least risk of adverse impacts (Berryman 1972). Often the concept of <br />integrated management (using a combination of methods) may be necessary to <br />achieve selective manipulation of fish populations. <br /> <br />14.8 REFERENCES <br /> <br />Albertson, L. M., B. R. Smith, and H. H. Moore. 1965. Experimental control of sea <br />lampreys with electricity on the south shore of Lake Superior, 1953-60. Great Lakes <br />Fishery Commission Technical Report 10. <br />Berryman, J. H. 1972. The principles of predator control. Journal of Wildlife Management <br />36:395-400. <br />Binning, L., and six coauthors. 1985. Pest management principles for the commercial <br />applicator, aquatic pest control. University of Wisconsin, Cooperative Extension <br />Service, Madison. <br />Bradbury, A. 1986. Rotenone and trout stocking: a literature review with special refer- <br />ence to Washington Department of Game's lake rehabilitation program. Washington <br />Department of Game, Fisheries Management Report 86-2, Olympia. <br />