8057

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8057
• Author: Bennett, J. R., D. A. Krieger, T. P. Nesler, L. E. Harris and R. B. Nehring.
• Title: An Assessment Of Fishery Management And Fish Production Alternatives To Reduce The Impact Of Whirling Disease In Colorado.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: Denver, Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

there is a direct and equal correlation between the number of fish stocked and the number of
recreation days generated. This assumption is an oversimplification and may lack validity as it
does not account for factors, besides stocking level, which can affect fishing recreation use. Some
of these factors include proximity to population centers, campgrounds or other accommodations,
roads, scenic attributes, and other fishing opportunities available in the immediate area. It should
also be reiterated that the Categorization System is not based on biological or physical attributes
of fish habitats. We are aware that all of these factors likely influence the level of fishing, but we
have not been able to quantify those relationships.
One should also realize that the Categorization System provides a "snapshot" of how we
were managing our fishing resources as of 1992. It illustrates what our management is, rather
than what it could or should be. The system is based on a given level of fish production in 1992
and the recreation days that also occurred at that time. It does not suggest the appropriate level
of fish production, or dictate any management decision.
Nonetheless, the Categorization System is one of the few available tools that can be used to
define the use of fish stocking and its role in meeting DOW fishing recreation goals. Since 1992,
fishery management and the aquatic resource base has changed considerably. New access,
regulation changes, changes in species management, and the level of fish production have all been
dynamic. The most critical change, particularly in the past couple of years, has been in alterations
of stocking management to decrease the spread of WD. It is helpful to examine these stocking
changes by the two major components of fish production--catchable-size trout and fry/fingerling
trout.
Catchable Trout Stocking
WD in Colorado's fish production facilities and changes in stocking deemed necessary by
the CWC to contain the spread of the disease have drastically altered fishery management and
have impacted the distribution of recreation days throughout the state. Given its dependency on
catchable trout, the fishing associated with waters in the Intensive Use category is most affected.
The CWC WD policy (May 1996), along with the availability of both WD- and WD+ fish at
state and federal hatcheries, has altered historical stocking programs. As seen in Table 5, this shift
has led to an increase in stocking and estimated recreation days (+1,036,000) on the east slope,
and a decrease in fish stocking and resulting loss of 394,000 recreation days on the west slope.
The CWC decision to reduce production of WD+ catchable trout by approximately 1.3
million in 1997 will also have major ramifications for stocking and recreation days in the
Intensive Use category waters (Table 6). If 1.1 million catchables are cut from east slope waters
and 0.2 million are cut from west slope waters, the west slope will likely experience a further
decrease in recreation days from 1996 levels. Recreation days for the west slope in 1997 could
decline by about 500,000 days, which represents about a 57% reduction, as compared with the
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