NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

May 1997

CONTACT: David Yeager: (850) 957-4172

BLACKWATER RESEARCH CENTER PRODUCES FISH FOR THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

Striped bass and striped bass hybrids have been produced at the Blackwater Fisheries Research and Development Center located in Holt, Florida since 1989. Approximately one million fingerlings (one to two inch fish) are produced at the Center each year and stocked in public waters throughout Florida. As a result of these stockings several notable sport fisheries have developed.

Hybrid striped bass were stocked in Bear Lake (Santa Rosa County) beginning in 1991 and in Lake Stone (Escambia County) in 1992. During the past two years anglers reported catching numerous hybrids from both lakes, with catches of fish weighing from five to seven pounds being fairly common.

The Escambia River near Pensacola also supports a good hybrid fishery. This system has been stocked annually since 1978. Estimates from angler interviews conducted by Research Center personnel showed over 5,000 hybrids were caught by anglers this spring. Hybrid fishermen were also quite successful, catching more than one fish per hour of fishing compared to largemouth bass fishermen who on the average took almost three hours to catch a fish.

One of the most recent stocking success stories is the development of a substantial striped bass population in the Blackwater and Yellow river systems. As part of a cooperative effort between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a stocking program was initiated to reestablish the once native striped bass in these two river systems. Striped bass have been stocked annually in the Blackwater River since 1987 and in the Yellow River since 1990. Fish samples taken after these early stockings showed the striped bass were surviving and growing. For the past three years reports of fish over 10 pounds being caught from these systems have been on the increase. This spring nine female striped bass brood fish were collected from the Blackwater River. The average weight of these fish was 25 pounds, with three fish exceeding 30 pounds. Five of these fish were brought to the Research Center and spawned, producing over 1.3 million fry (newly hatched fish). Some of these fry were raised to fingerling size in culture ponds at the Research Center and stocked back into the Yellow and Blackwater rivers.

Now that mature striped bass capable of reproducing are thriving in the Blackwater and Yellow rivers, it is possible natural reproduction is occurring or will occur in these systems in the future. If natural reproduction does occur then the need for annual fingerling stockings of striped bass in these systems may be eliminated. Biologists at the Research Center will be conducting studies in the future to determine if striped bass are reproducing in local rivers.