Predicting the Effects of Angling for Nesting Male Smallmouth Bass on Production of Age-0 Fish with an Individual-Based Model

Abstract

Abstract We used an individual-based model of dynamics of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu to examine the effect of angling for nesting males on the abundance of age-0 smallmouth bass. Variation in the daily probability of capture, opening date of angling, and probability of a male successfully returning to guard his brood, as well as a contrast between catch-and-keep versus catch-and-release policies were examined. Male body size and the preference of anglers for fish of different size were varied as a demonstration of the complex interactions between the variability in the reproductive ecology of a fish, angler preference, and a fixed management regulation. We found that the abundance of age-0 smallmouth bass decreased as the daily probability of capturing a nesting male increased in both catch-and-keep and catch-and-release policies. Opening dates during the nesting season, when males were guarding broods, also decreased the abundance of age-0 fish. This decrease was dramatic when the opening date ...