Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)
is reminding anglers to report tagged smallmouth bass in
order to help the agency with a population assessment on a
section of the lower West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
The
commission is currently conducting the assessment and an
angler survey on about seven miles of the lower West Branch
of the Susquehanna River from the vicinity of Muncy
downstream to Montgomery, Lycoming County.
“The
population assessment portion will evaluate smallmouth bass
population size and size structure, while the angler survey
portion will measure angler catch and harvest for the period
of June through September 2008,” said Dave Miko, chief of
the Division of Fisheries Management. “Creel clerks are
collecting the angler survey data by interviewing anglers at
access areas. The results of the study will provide
important information that will help guide future management
efforts on the river.”
Biologists are using a mark-recapture method to estimate the
smallmouth bass population. During this process, biologists
tag and release a large number of smallmouth bass.
A
toll-free telephone number and unique serial number are
printed on each tag. The tags resemble an orange strand of
“plastic spaghetti” located on the fish’s stomach area (see
photo below). The tag strand contains a tag number and a
toll-free telephone number where tags can be reported. It is
not necessary to harvest fish to report the tags. The tag
numbers simply need to be recorded and anglers can release
tagged bass unharmed. Anglers should not pull the tag out of
the fish because doing so may injure the fish.
The tags
are specially designed so that bass which are caught
multiple times can be reported. Each tag contains two sets
of serial numbers. The first time a tagged bass is captured,
and an angler intends to release the fish, the angler can
clip off the outermost portion of the tag at the dark
separator mark and leave the inner portion of the tag
containing duplicate information. If the bass is captured a
second time, the remainder of the tag can be removed and the
fish released.
Anglers harvesting bass should look for both the spaghetti
tag as well as a small anchor button under the skin when
filleting, as they may have taken a bass that was caught and
released twice before and no longer bears an external tag.
Those finding anchor buttons should also call the toll-free
phone number printed on the button.
This study will complement two large-scale river angler
surveys that the PFBC has undertaken on large rivers in the
past decade. In 2007, the PFBC partnered with Penn State
and Colorado State universities to conduct angler surveys on
about 130 miles of the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers. The
survey was designed to measure catch, harvest, economic
expenditures and angler opinions associated with fishing on
sections of the two rivers for the period April through
October.
In 2002, Pennsylvania partnered with New Jersey, New York,
and Delaware to measure catch and harvest of all fish
species on the Delaware River and Delaware Estuary. That survey revealed significant recreational activity on
that river. The Delaware River survey documented that
approximately 120,000 angling trips occurred on the tidal
and non-tidal portions of that river combined from March 17
through October.
The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect,
conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources
and provide fishing and boating opportunities. Please
explore our website for more information about fishing and
boating in Pennsylvania.
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