Paddlefish were historically distributed throughout most of the major tributaries of the Mississippi River Basin. Their migratory nature causes them to move between state jurisdictions on a regular basis. One day a paddlefish might be found in the waters of one state and another day, a few weeks later, that same fish might be found up or downstream several hundred miles away in the waters of another state or jurisdiction. As such paddlefish need to be managed on an interjurisdictional basis, and through MICRA, the states and entities have joined forces and funding to initiate a research project designed to create a shared database for paddlefish management.
This interstate and interagcncy project was
initiated in 1994 through the cooperation and financial assistance* of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS had a special interest in paddlefish because the
species had been petitioned for listing on the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered
Wildlife in the early 1990's. The study actually commenced in March 1995, collecting
and tagging adult paddlefish in the field and tagging any hatchery re
leased
fish with a special binary, coded wire tag carrying a MICRA numbering system. This
mechanism was designed so that recaptures could be used to identify various stocks and to
document movements, growth, mortality, harvest, and overall condition of the various
stocks.
By late 1997, a total of 22 states were participating in the study, and over 6,000 wild, adult paddlefish had been tagged and released in the field, while over 1 million hatchery-reared fingerlings had been tagged and released. Tag returns are increasing each year, and preliminary information indicates that these amazing fish are, as expected, highly migratory, and may well be more effectively managed interjurisdictionally rather than on a state by state basis. We are hopeful that as more adult paddlefish are tagged and as hatchery stocked paddlefish mature and begin enteirng the sport and commercial harvest, that new and progressive management schemes can be developed for these important big river fish.
Additional Reading:
Bettoli, P.W. and N.P. Brennan. 1997. Interim report on paddlefish coded wire tagging project. Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA). Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN.
Brennan, N.P. 1997.
Establishment and management of a multi state, coded-wire tag paddlefish database.
M.S. Thesis. Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN. 93 pp.
Grady, J.M. and G.A. Conover. 1998. Mississippi River Basin paddlefish research coded-wire tagging project 1997 annual report. Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA), P.O. Box 774, Bettendorf, IA 52722. 33 pp. + App.
Hoxmeier, R.J.H. and D.R. DeVries. 1997. Habitat use, diet, and population sturcture of adult and juvenile paddlefish in the lwoer Alabama River. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 126:288-301.
Oven, J.H. 1995. Interjurisidictional paddlefish tagging study protocol. Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA), P.O. Box 774, Bettendorf, IA 52722.
Oven, J.H. and F.C. Fiss. 1996. MICRA national paddlefish research: 1995 interim report. Mississippi Inerstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA), P.O. Box 774, Bettendorf, IA 52722. 40 pp.
* This project was also made possible through the generous donations of gifts for the reward and recovery aspect of this study from the following vendors:
Berkley, Cabelas, Coleman, In-Fisherman, Memphis Net & Twine, Plano Tackle Company, and Sea-Ark Boats