Evaluation of a Five-Year Shoal Bass Micropterus Cataractae Conservation-Stocking Program in the Upper Chattahoochee River, Georgia

In 2003, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service initiated a five-year shoal bass stocking program below Morgan Falls Dam in the Chattahoochee River, Georgia with a goal of rehabilitating population abundance to historic levels and to provide further sport-fishing opportunities.  Shoal bass were marked with oxytetracyline (OTC) and stocked as juveniles at one of two size classes (Phase I [~25 mm, TL] and Phase II  [~60 mm, TL]) in spring (April – June) each year (2003-2007).  Contribution to the adult population was evaluated by collecting adult shoal bass with boat electrofishing from 2007-2011 and viewing their otoliths for the presence of an OTC mark.  Stocked shoal bass dominated the total sample of adult fish collected (62%) and most of these fish (41%) were stocked at the larger size class.  Based on results from multiple regression modeling, age-3 shoal bass catch-per-unit-effort was positively related to mean size at stocking and spring water temperatures.  Natural mortality of shoal bass in this population was low (20%) with increased longevity (14 years) and low growth rates. Overall, the five-year shoal bass stocking program was successful in increasing shoal bass abundance in the Chattahoochee River below Morgan Falls Dam.