Poster Details
SUSTAINABLE FRESHWATER RECREATIONAL FISHERY WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTAL STOCKING FARMED FISH IN JAPAN
An important issue in the management of stream fisheries in Japan is the extent to which catch and release (C&R) regulations can be used to sustain a quality recreational fishery without the need for supplemental stocking. We examined this issue in the Itoshiro River, central Japan, where C&R regulation for salmonids was adopted in 2000, and stocking was discontinued in 2002. We compared fish populations under two treatments: sites that were C&R fishing only and sites where harvest was allowed under general fishing regulations. Fish were not stocked in the C&R sites but were stocked in the general regulation sites every year. We electrofished and estimated the fish populations across the treatments and found a significantly greater fish density in C&R sites compared to the sites with the general fishing regulation. Moreover, fish >15 cm in fork length comprised nearly 50% of the population in the C&R sites but 28% in the general regulation sites. There was no difference in angling pressure between the two treatments. These results suggest that a C&R regulation can be used to maintain a quality recreational fishery without the need to stock hatchery charr.
Yoshinori Taniguchi (Primary Presenter/Author), Dept. Environmental Science & Technology, Meijo University, Japan, ytstone0727@gmail.com;
Yuya Nagasaki (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Dept. Environmental Science & Technology, Meijo University, Japan, email 2;