Mobility of Riverine Smallmouth Bass Related to Tournament Displacement and Seasonal Habitat Use

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Mobility of Riverine Smallmouth Bass Related to
Tournament Displacement and Seasonal Habitat Use

• Christopher M. Bunt, Steven J. Cooke and David P.
  Philipp
• 2002
• American Fisheries Society Smposium 31545-552

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Introduction

• Most smallmouth bass are mostly sedentary,
  meaning home range is small and movement is
  limited
• Tournaments coincide during times when bass are
  sedentary, usually midsummer
• Most release of bass after tournaments occur in
  areas far from original habitat

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Study Design

• Hypothesis Displaced smallmouth bass are not
  likely to disperse more than bass released at
  original capture locations
• Use radiotelemetry and tagging to study the
  dispersal and movement of displaced bass and bass
  released at original capture locations

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Study Area and Methods

• Grand River, Ontario
• Location of capture and weight were recorded for
  bass caught in tournaments, then tagged and
  released in 1996, 1997 and 1998
• In the final year fish were radio tagged and
  movement was tracked
• Recapture locations of tagged fish were recorded
  to measure movement and displacement

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Results

• All bass remained within 1 km of release site for
  1-11 months
• Past studies have shown that some displaced bass
  will travel to original capture sight, but
  occurrences are uncommon
• Season and age may determine movement
• Some displaced fish moved more than nondisplaced
  fish, however most bass did not show significant
  movement from release sites during the first
  weeks of release

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Discussion

• By concentrating large smallmouth bass in areas
  with easy access (tournament release sites) the
  availability of fish to anglers increased
• Behavior of bass after tournament release may
  increase vulnerability to angling following
  tournaments
• Suggestions tournament-released bass should not
  be released in areas with high access to anglers

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??Questions??

• Thank you and have a nice day