Exploitation and survival of Yellow Perch introduced into community ponds

Abstract

Increased urbanization paired with stagnant or decreasing fishing license sales has bolstered the importance of community fishing programs. Community fisheries require fish introductions, have highly variable chemical and physical characteristics, and are situated in urban settings with non-traditional fishers that can prefer unique species. Community ponds also often receive high angling pressure and exploitation that can hinder the establishment of sustainable populations. We evaluated angler exploitation and its effects as well as biotic (i.e., stocking density, predator relative abundance) and abiotic (i.e., water temperature, pond size, pond depth) factors affecting survival of stocked adult Yellow Perch Perca flavescens in community ponds. We tagged 580 adult Yellow Perch (≥150 mm) and stocked them into four community ponds at 74 or 148 fish/ha in September 2018. We collected two years of fishery dependent (angler tag reporting) and independent recapture data to estimate angler exploitation and survival of Yellow Perch using a joint live-recapture and dead-recovery model. We estimated anglers harvested 44% (95% CI ± 6%) of stocked Yellow Perch across the four ponds in two years, with the majority (81%) coming from one pond. Additionally, anglers harvested 66% of captured Yellow Perch and harvest probability increased with fish size. Seasonal exploitation ranged from 0% to 37% and was more prevalent in cold water seasons. Yellow Perch survival was negatively related to harvest (β = −0.14; 95% CI = −0.17 to −0.10) and a quadratic effect of water temperature (temperature: β = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.02–0.53; temperature2: β = 0.01; 95% CI = −0.01–0.01). Yellow Perch survival was not related to stocking density or pond characteristics. After two years, cumulative survival in three ponds ranged from 0.83 to 0.87 whereas survival in one pond with high exploitation was 0.22. Our results suggest Yellow Perch can be successfully introduced in community fisheries, but populations may not be sustainable when harvest is high. Thus, management strategies to mitigate excessive harvest or multiple put-and-take stockings may be necessary to maintain Yellow Perch populations in community fishing programs.