The U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat): Development, Applications, and Opportunities

Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular pastime in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys and their importance to fisheries management at state scales, regional and national coordination among these activities is minimal, limiting data applicability for larger-scale management practices and research. Here, we introduce the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), a first-of-its-kind, publicly available national database of angler survey data that establishes a baseline of national inland recreational fishing metrics. We highlight research and management applications to help support sustainable inland recreational fishing practices, consider cautions, and make recommendations for implementation

Rating US reservoirs relative to fish habitat condition

<p>Fish habitats in many aging US reservoirs have become degraded and require broad-scale assessment to rate their status and facilitate rehabilitation efforts. To help prioritize habitat projects in reservoirs, we assembled a rating system for large reservoirs in the contiguous United States. Using responses to an online questionnaire about fish habitat impairment in 1299 large US reservoirs, we applied multivariate analyses to identify combinations of habitat impairment descriptors that quantified broad impairment types (i.e., a construct). Resulting constructs reflected point source pollution, nonpoint source pollution, excessive nutrients, algae blooms, siltation, limited nutrients, mudflats and shallowness, limited connectivity to adjacent habitats, limited littoral structure, nuisance species, anomalous water regimes, and large water level fluctuations. Scores were summed across constructs to create a composite number that rated overall reservoir habitat impairment. Construct and composite scores differed among geographic ecoregions of the United States. This rating system could provide a starting point for prioritizing reservoirs for habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects.</p

Modeled Walleye regulation outcomes in a Midwestern reservoir with varying forage and Walleye density

In a put-grow-take fishery, Walleye Sander vitreus management may require length-based regulation and depends on population dynamics such as growth, which in turn depends on forage. Big Creek Lake, an important Iowa Walleye fishery, underwent forage changes twice within two decades. Concurrently, Walleye density changed due to increased stocking and reduced emigration, resulting in four scenarios: A) low-density Walleye with Gizzard Shad forage, B) low-density Walleye with centrarchid/percid forage, C) high-density Walleye with centrarchid/percid forage, and D) high-density Walleye with Gizzard Shad forage. We examined Walleye population dynamics and relative effects of four length-based regulations during each period using sampling data from 1998-2000, 2006-2008, 2013-2015, and 2019. Walleye in Big Creek Lake likely experienced density-dependence when Walleye density was high and Gizzard Shad were absent, resulting in depressed growth, low condition, increased natural mortality, reduced exploitation, and ineffectiveness of regulations. At lower Walleye densities, the centrarchid/percid forage supported Walleye growth and condition equivalent to when Gizzard Shad were present. Fishing regulations for enhancing Walleye size distribution or yield differed over time due to shifting population dynamics and angler exploitation, and were notably ineffective during Period C. The preferred regulation for the current scenario (high-density Walleye with Gizzard Shad) depends on angler preferences for higher catch or larger fish. Big Creek Lake’s Walleye fishery provided a useful demonstration of how rapidly a population can respond to changes in density and forage, and therefore how dynamic fishery management needed to be.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Krogman, Rebecca M., Benjamin J. Dodd, Andy Otting, Michael J. Weber, and Robert E. Weber. "Modeled Walleye regulation outcomes in a Midwestern reservoir with varying forage and Walleye density." North American Journal of Fisheries Management (2021), which has been published in final form at doi:10.1002/nafm.10718. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited