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<br />44
<br />
<br />OVERVIEW OF RIVER-FLOODPLAIN ECOLOGY IN THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN
<br />
<br />Table 4-1. Federal, State, threatened, or endangered species or species of special concern in the Mississippi River main stem (Twin
<br />Cities. Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois)---Mussels
<br /> Genus and species Common name Federal Minn. Wis. Iowa III. Mo.
<br />Arcidens confragosus (Say, 1829) .................... Rock pocketbook T R
<br />Cumber/andia monodonta (Say. 1829) ....__...... Spectaclecase E E E WL
<br />CycJonaias tuhercula/a (Rafinesque. 1820) ..... Purple wartyback E
<br />Ellipsaria lineo/ala (Rafinesque, 1820) ........... Butterfly E T WL
<br />EJUptio crassidens (Lamarck, 1819) ..........h...' Elephant ear SC E T E
<br />Epiob/asma triquetra (Rafinesque, 1820) ........ Snuffbox mussel
<br />Fuu'onaia ebena (I. Lea, 1831)........................ Ebonyshell SC E E
<br />Lampsilis higginsi (I. Lea, 1857) ..................... Higgins' eye pearly mussel E E E E E E
<br />Lampsilis teres (Rafinesque. 1820) .................. Yellow sandshell E E
<br />Leptodea leptodon (Rafinesque, 1820) ............ Scaleshell mussel
<br />Obovaria olivaria (Rafinesque, 1820) ............. Hickory nut WL
<br />Plethobasus cyphyus (Rafinesque. 1820)......... Sheepnose T R
<br />Pleurobema coccineum (Conrad, 1834)........... Round pigtoe R
<br />Potamilus capax (Green. 1832).....................". Fat pocketbook E E EX E E
<br />Quadrula metanevra (Rafinesque. 1820)......... Monkeyface R
<br />Quadrula nodulata (Rafinesque. 1820) ........... Wartyback T R
<br />Simpsonaias amhigua (Say, 1825) ................... Salamander mussel T E E
<br />
<br />Sources: u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service (1994a. 1994b); Wisconsin Department of f\atural Resources (1994); Minneso{a Department of National Resources (] 994); Illinois
<br />Department of Consen'ation (1994): Missouri Department of Conservation (] 994); and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (1988).
<br />f\ote: E, endangered; EX. extirpated from State; R. rare: SC, special concern; T. threatened; and WL, watch list.
<br />
<br />COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
<br />
<br />Describing trends in commercial fishery resources over
<br />the last 100 or so years is equally difficult, similar to that
<br />described above for mussels. Changes in regulations,
<br />demand, price, differences in (or lack of) reporting, and
<br />change in fishermen motility and gear have all affected the
<br />harvest of commercial fisheries. Some of the most signifi-
<br />cant impacts on the UMR fishery have resulted from the
<br />alteration of the river for commercial navigation. Such alter-
<br />ations began in the 1800's with the construction of the
<br />4-foot and 6-foot channel projects, and continued through
<br />construction of the presenllock and dam system in the
<br />1930's. Impoundment and channelization of the river
<br />increased habitats desired by some species (i.e., backwaters
<br />favored by carp) and reduced other habitats, such as gravel
<br />riffles favored by paddlefish and sturgeon. Carlander (1954)
<br />summarized the major changes occurring in UMR fish
<br />resources (see Carl ander, 1954, figure 16 and tables 2 and 3)
<br />and described the UMR commercial fishery from 1894 to
<br />1950:
<br />
<br />In general. the magnitude of the fisheries has not changed very much over
<br />the last sixty years (Tables 2 and 3).... The total annual catch was appar-
<br />ently somewhat more from 1894 to 1922 than it has been since 1930. The
<br />difference in the relative abundance of various species...is probably more
<br />important than any decline in totaJ catch.
<br />
<br />Commercial fishing for lhe period 1953-1977 was
<br />evaluated by the UMRCC in "A Compendium of Fisheries
<br />
<br />Information on the Upper Mississippi River System" pub-
<br />lished in 1979 (Kline and Golden, 1979). Kline and Golden
<br />(1979) noted a gradual increase of harvest during the
<br />1950's. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, the total catch
<br />fluctuated between approximately 11 million and 14 million
<br />pounds annually. For the 25-year period, 95.04 percent of
<br />the catch was represented by four species (groups): carp
<br />(Cyprinidae), buffalo (letiobus spp.), catfish (1ctaluridae),
<br />and freshwater drum (Sciaenidae). Kline and Golden (1979)
<br />summarized the trends for these four species for the period
<br />1894-1977. See table 18 from the UMRCC Compendium
<br />(Rasmussen, 1979).
<br />For the period 1978-1991 the commercial harvest of
<br />fish has remained more or less constant, ranging from a low
<br />of 8.6 million pounds in 1982 to a high of 11.4 million
<br />pounds in 1987 (Upper Mississippi River Conservation
<br />Committee, 1978-1991, annual proceedings). Throughout
<br />this period, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) remained the
<br />most frequently harvested species, accounting for approxi-
<br />mately 30 percent or more of the total annual harvest. Buf-
<br />falo (letiobus spp.) were second in pounds harvested,
<br />followed by freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) and
<br />caIfish in roughly equal amounts. Over this 14-year period
<br />some species declined in abundance. American eel
<br />(Anguilla rostrata), for example, declined from 2,727
<br />pounds in 1978 to only 656 pounds in 1991. Paddlefish
<br />(Po/yadon sparbu/a) declined overall, from more than
<br />173,000 pounds in 1978 to 59,000 pounds in 1991. This was
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