StructureSpot

New Man-Made Reefs Heading To Gulf Floor

Man-made reefs similar to this will be deployed off Escambia County between now and June, 2019.
CREDIT ESCAMBIA COUNTY MARINE RESOURCES

More than 700 new artificial reefs are going into the waters off Pensacola in the next few months, in phase two of a program funded by the BP settlement of the 2010 oil spill.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, for every dollar spent on artificial reefs in the Florida Panhandle, the conservative overall economic benefit is roughly $138.

“We’ve been trying to do this the whole time I’ve been on the [Commission]; actually, even before I got on the Board Escambia County had taken a fairly aggressive position on reefing,” said Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson, who chairs the Gulf Consortium, 23 Florida counties affected by the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill.

The money’s coming from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, NRDA, which is aimed at compensating for environmental damages in those counties.

“When NRDA came about, Escambia County residents lost the whole spring and summer of fishing [in 2010] due to the oil spill,” Robinson said. “That we knew there was something that we needed to do to compensate those individuals.”Not just the people that commercially fish; but also our recreational fishers.”

Dropping artificial reefs off the coastline is going beyond Escambia; Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Bay Counties also have programs. Robinson calls it a “common thread” across northwest Florida to build habitat that can translate into more tourist revenues.

Escambia Co. Commissioner Grover Robinson, Chairman of the Gulf Consortium.
CREDIT DAVE DUNWOODY, WUWF PUBLIC MEDIA

“Not only do you have the tourist dollars that come from the actual charter on your boat going out with people and doing the fishing, you have the supplies they buy; the tackle, the line, the rods, the reels,” said Robinson. “But more than that, you also get the hotel stays; they eat, they usually stay here.”

Two local firms will share $2.2 million in NRDA money to build the reefs. Walter Marine of Orange Beach will get $1.7 million to provide 77 large tetrahedron, or triangular pyramid, reefs, and about 300 smaller reefs. Coastal Reef Builders of Pensacola will use $531,000 to build 350 large dome reefs.

“We’re ready to go,” Robinson says. “We’re ready to get them working and hopefully there will be great opportunities for us to expand our fishing and for people to get out on the Gulf.”

Robert Turpin, Director of Marine Resources for Escambia County.
CREDIT ESCAMBIA COUNTY

“The end of the contract is June of 2019; however, it’s very likely that the construction will be completed well before that cutoff date,” said Robert Turpin, Escambia County’s Marine Resources Director. He says the structures will help increase fish populations using 21st century materials and deployment techniques.

“Cured concrete that is stable and durable,” said Turpin. “Some of this has limestone that is actually embedded into the concrete, which provides for a more natural sub-strait for attaching and boring organisms.”

As part of the project, there also will be an upgraded interactive map of area reef sites showing both reef modules and shipwreck sites through Google Earth; and a new app for GPS units.

“We also have the coordinates in a GPX format that is available for most of the newer GPS units,” said Turpin. “Where you can simply upload the coordinates in your GPS unit, instead of the old-fashioned way where you had to literally punch in the numbers one at a time.”

Meanwhile, construction is underway at the new Three Mile Bridge site, including plans for lead contractor Skanska USA to take down the old span. Turpin is hoping that those materials can be used to improve the reefs made from the remnants of the I-10 Bridge that was replaced after being destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.

“Skanska was one of the contractors that replaced the I-10 Bridge,” Turpin said. “So they know reefing of those materials is fast. And we’ve made it even faster, more efficient, therefore cheaper for them to do the same thing with the Three Mile Bridge rubble.”

As mentioned, Santa Rosa County is also building its reef program. According to the Pensacola News Journal, the county has about $1.2 million in the bank for additional modules at a snorkel reef off Navarre.

 This story originally aired on February 21, 2018. For more habitat articles go to Fishiding.com

Ottawa pledges $284 million to expand protections for fish habitats

Ottawa pledges $284 million to expand protections for fish habitats

WATCH ABOVE: The federal government has pledged to “restore lost protections” for fish habitats that were lost under the Harper government with a $284-million commitment

The federal government will spend $284 million over the next five years to enforce new laws protecting habitat wherever fish are present, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc says.

A number of amendments to the Fisheries Act were introduced in the House of Commons Tuesday morning to expand the reach of a prohibition against anything that alters or impacts fish habitat to all waters where fish exist.

Changes to the act in 2012 meant the protections were enforced only for fish listed in provincial registries as being part of commercial, recreational or Indigenous fisheries.

Officials with Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in Ottawa today the 2012 changes resulted in a lot of confusion about exactly what projects would require a federal government assessment, because it wasn’t always clear which fish needed protecting and which didn’t.

The government intends to produce regulations that will spell out exactly which projects will require a federal assessment and ministerial permit to proceed and which will not. The department is consulting on those regulations now.

As well, any reviews done will be captured in a public registry so the public can see the results of every review, something that is not required now.

The act also will require the minister to take into account Indigenous knowledge and expertise when it is provided and all decisions must take into account the possible impacts on Indigenous rights. However that knowledge will be protected from being revealed publicly or even to a project’s proponents without explicit permission from the Indigenous community or people who provided it.

The $284 million will be allocated to help implement and enforce the new law, including hiring new fisheries officers to enforce the act and educate people about it, however officials say there are no details yet about how many will be hired and when.

The legislation also will make it illegal to capture whales, dolphins and porpoises in Canadian waters for the purpose of keeping them in captivity. Officials say existing permits for such activities will be honoured, but in the future only animals captured because they are in distress, injured or in need of care can be held in captivity in Canada.

The amendments to the Fisheries Act are part of a package of government changes to the federal environmental assessment process and fulfills a mandate item issued to LeBlanc when he became the minister.

The bill will be followed later this week by another one that will overhaul the National Energy Board, as well as revise the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary law professor who worked as a lawyer for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans between 2007 and 2013, said the 2012 changes made to the Fisheries Act differentiated between fish that matter and fish that don

“More substantively, it signalled to a lot of people in Canada that suddenly this prohibition didn’t matter,” Olszynski said. “So you had what was already a very under-regulated issue which impacts fish and fish habitat mostly as a result of resource development becoming that much less supervised.”

He said after the act was introduced the number of projects referred to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for assessment was cut in half. Officials expect the number of referrals and project reviews will go back up, but they said it’s too early to say how many more assessments will be done.

There have been between 80 and 400 reviews in recent years. Lots more habitat news at fishiding.com

The government has been studying these changes since 2016, with online consultations, meetings with Indigenous communities and governments and a study by the House of Commons fisheries committee.

ARTIFICIAL FISH HABITAT OR FISH ATTRACTORS, WHICH DO THE FISH NEED AND WHY?

First off, let’s not continue to confuse fish habitat with fish attractors. There are many substabtial differences between the two and what each product is intended for. Both products attract fish, but only habitat holds the future of fishing.

Log Fish Attractor   Bass on Artificial habitat

Under the Fisheries Act, fish habitat is defined as: “Spawning grounds and nursery, rearing, food supply and migration areas on which fish depend directly or indirectly in order to carry out their life process. (Fisheries Act Section 34(1))”.

Artificial fish habitat as defined above, is simply habitat that is man made with materials not found in nature. Although made from mainly plastics, the intended goal is absolutely the same. Reproduction and protection of more fish.

Fishiding Starter Pack

The planting of native aquatic plants, installing brush, rock, deadfalls and timber would be considered supplemental natural habitat. These types of materials succeed in replacing natural materials that have decayed or have been lost to siltation, erosion and development, but were once present.

Artificial fish attractors attract larger fish and little more, accomplishing the intended task as designed. Open in design and able to see through, generally tubes and sticks that are easy to get fishing lures around, they attract larger fish to a designated area for a short time in transition between cover, made for fisherman to enjoy. One job well done when placed and designed in such a manner that the desired species of fish feel comfortable using it. More at fishiding.com

Read the full story here……….

Artificial Fish Habitat Teaches Fish Survival Skills

Aquatic Playground Can Turn Water Tanks Into Fish Schools

July 30, 2013 — Raising fish in tanks that contain hiding places and other obstacles can make the fish both smarter and improve their chances of survival when they are released into the wild, according to an international team of researchers. More habitat articles at fishiding.com


“It’s a key problem in that we are very good at rearing fish, but we’re really not very good at releasing those animals in the wild such that they survive,” said Victoria Braithwaite, professor of fisheries and biology, Penn State. “There’s a mismatch between the way we raise them and the real world.”

Juvenile Atlantic salmon raised in tanks that including pebble and rock hiding places and floating artificial plants were better able to navigate mazes and showed signs of improved brain function compared to the salmon reared in standard hatchery tanks, Braithwaite said. This may help conservation fish hatcheries raise and release fish that are better adapted to survive in the wild.

Conservation fish hatcheries raise cod, salmon, trout and other types of fish and release them in places where their species may be threatened, or where their populations are declining.

“The philosophy of most fish hatcheries is to rear a large number of fish and hope some survive,” said Braithwaite. “What this study is suggesting is that you could raise fewer, but smarter fish, and you will still have higher survivability once you release them.”

The researchers, who released their findings today (July 31) in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, placed pebbles and rocks at the bottom of the tank and added plastic plants weighted down so they would float vertically in the water. Braithwaite said the objects created a more natural, three-dimensional ecosystem.

“In the hatchery the world is homogenous, life is boring and monotonous,” Braithwaite said. “The water flow is the same, you don’t have to find your food and you don’t have to avoid predators.”

The researchers also moved the objects around about once a week during the eight-week study, which took place in Norway.

When the researchers placed the salmon in a maze, the fish raised in the enriched tanks made fewer mistakes when trying to escape the maze, Braithwaite said. The performance of the salmon from the enriched tank continued to improve with each trial, and they learned to solve the maze much faster than fish reared the standard way.

The brains of the fish from the enriched tank were also different from the fish raised in the standard hatchery tanks, according to the researchers.

They noted increased expressions of a gene in a region of the fish’s brain that is associated with learning and memory, an indication of increased brain function and growth. The fish raised in standard tanks did not show this sign of increased brain development.

Interacting with the environment can influence gene expression in the brain, Braithwaite said.

“The brain is a very plastic organ, it’s a dynamic structure,” said Braithwaite, who worked with Ann Gro Vea Salvanes, professor of biology; Olav

Moberg, doctoral student; Tome Ole Nilsen, researcher in marine development biology; Knut Helge Jensen, senior engineer in evolutionary ecology, all at the University of Bergen, Norway; and Lars O.E. Ebbesson, group leader of integrative fish biology, Uni Research, Bergen. Braithwaite said the enriched tanks created significant improvement in the intelligence and adaptability of the fish, but were relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. Owners of fish hatcheries should be able to afford the creation of enhanced tanks.


Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Penn State, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Oklahoma wildlife officials hope fish like tornado debris

  • Oklahoma Debris Spider Block.jpg

    Debris from the recent tornado that swept through Oklahoma is being put to use by state conservation officials, who are submerging it in lakes to form “fish attractors.” (wildlifedepartment.com)

Debris from the recent tornado that swept through Oklahoma is already being put to use by state conservation officials, who are submerging it in lakes to form “fish attractors.”

Cinder blocks scattered by the twister that killed 24 last month have been collected by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, which will use them to make what anglers call “spider blocks,” to sink in state lakes, according to The Oklahoman

“We’ve probably got close to 500 right now,” Greg Summers, of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, told the newspaper. More habitat articles at fishiding.com

Fish congregate around the spider blocks, which get their name from the appearance given by the PVC pipe that sticks out from the cinder blocks.

“Predators use them as an ambush point,” Summers said. “That’s why they are valued as fish attractors because they do attract predators.”

Spider blocks are usually placed at depths of 12 feet or less, and marked for anglers.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/06/04/oklahoma-wildlife-officials-hope-fish-like-tornado-debris/#ixzz2W0JRnrJw

TPWD stocks stripers at PK Lake

 

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Wes Studder aids in transferring a net full of the more than 100,000 striper fingerlings stocked at Possum Kingdom Lake May 30. The stocking was done following a work project which sank cedars and brush piles to increase fish habitat in the lake. (Sarah Howard)

In an effort to continue to increase the fish population at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocked 100,000 striper fingerlings May 30. The fish arrived from the new TPWD East Texas fish hatchery in Jasper. They were then transported by boat from North D&D to deeper water before being released into the lake. “We use the deep water transfer to help avoid predators that are usually close to the shoreline,” said Steven Hise, TPWD staff member charged with the job of transferring the fish. According to Wes Studder, TPWD senior technician, the stocking was done following a work project which sank cedars and brush piles to increase fish habitat in the lake. “The new brush piles will provide shelter for the new fish,” he said. “It is great to have a group of people to work with on projects like this.” TPWD is working in conjunction with Hell’s Gate Bass Club on projects to improve the lake. Plans to coordinate with the club were made after an April HGBC meeting where members voted to establish a chapter of Friends of Reservoirs. The program will enable the club to obtain grants and donations for projects done in conjunction with TPWD. TWPD also plans to start 60 small colonies of American pond weed and water willow in the Cedar Creek area of the lake. “We have plans to return to the lake in June to establish vegetation habitats,” said Studder. “It will give us another chance to work with the Hell’s Gate Bass Club.” Dropping water levels and the age of the reservoir have resulted in fewer habitats and less natural plant growth that acts as a refuge for younger fish. To battle this, TPWD began a habitat enhancement project. Its goal is to create natural and artificial habitats, as well as re-introduce aquatic vegetation into the lake creating safe places for young fish. By Sarah Howard. More habitat articles at fishiding.com

At work on the North Fork

AGFC projects under way on riverbed, overlook

North Fork River projects
North Fork River projects: Overlook and fish habitat improvement underway

Written by
FRANK WALLIS
Mike Cantrell, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission coordinator of Regional Maintenance, points to the North Fork River while standing on an overlook now under construction on a bluff above the river. The new overlook is near the city of Norfork.More habitat articles at fishiding.com

Mike Cantrell, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission coordinator of Regional Maintenance, points to the North Fork River while standing on an overlook now under construction on a bluff above the river. The new overlook is near the city of Norfork. / Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin

watch it online

See a related video
on the North Fork River projects online atwww.baxterbulletin.com.

NORFORK — The North Fork of the White River and the scenic valley that cradles it are expected to offer some new accommodations for fish and humans by the summer’s end.

An award-winning team of biologists is set to begin work in the riverbed, strategically placing a series of boulders and root wads in the stream for fish habitat and bank stabilization.

Meanwhile, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission construction crew is building a new scenic overlook on the east side of AR Highway 5 to the north of Norfork.

Fish habitat

AGFC Biologist Tim Burnley told The Bulletin the river work is a second phase of the North Fork River Habitat Project that began in January 2012.

The work involves about 1.5 miles of riverbed and riverbanks from the head of Cooper’s Island downstream to waters fronting River Ridge Inn. Burnley said the stretch of river below Cooper’s Island — known to anglers and biologists as The Flats — hasn’t contained many objects to create holding places for fish, also known as “lunker bunkers.”

“We plan to come in with in-stream cover — mostly rocks and rootwads,” Burnley said. “With that and new water from minimum flow, we expect to have some good fishing in this area of the river.”

Burnley heads up the $100,000 project with AGFC biologists Tony Crouch and Eli Powers.

A series of large boulders is planned for placement at the head of Cooper Island to offer some floodwater protection for the natural island structure and, at the same time, create new holding places for fish.

A similar series of boulders was placed on Charlie’s Island in the first phase of the project.

Overlook project

Mike Cantrell, coordinator of AGFC’s Calico Rock Regional Maintenance, leads an AGFC team in construction of a new public overlook on the east side of Highway 5 just north of its intersection of AR Highway 341.

Cantrell said the overlook will offer a much broader view of the river valley than can been seen from an unmarked pull-off to the north of the new overlook site.

A platform is planned for sightseers with disabilities.

A second viewing site higher on the ridge is planned for hikers. Parking for up to eight passenger cars or trucks is planned, but not for buses due to a relatively steep grade to the parking area, Cantrell said.

The material cost for the overlook is about $27,000, Cantrell said.

Both projects are funded mostly through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Sport Fish Restoration Fund administered by AGFC. That fund matches $3-to-$1 a contribution of $25,000 for the fish habitat project from the the state’s Overlook Estates Settlement Fund held jointly by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and Trout Unlimited.

Award-winning work

Burnley‘s group and an array of contributors including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Explorer Scouts, Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Friends of the North Fork Fish Hatchery, are 2010 recipients of the American Fisheries Society’s Sport Fish Restoration Project of the Year Award.

The project included substantial stream-bed and bank stabilization for Dry Run Creek with major access for anglers with disabilities.

What Exactly Is Fish Habitat and Why Must We Care?

Forward Post: AFS Journal
What Exactly Is Fish Habitat and Why Must We Care?
Mon Jun 3, 2013 2:29pm
What Exactly Is Fish Habitat and Why Must We Care?Thomas E. Bigford
Office of Habitat Conservation, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
E-mail: Thomas.bigford@noaa.gov

“Fish habitat” is a
simple term. We can easily
imagine a fish languishing
under a log or in
a kelp forest, and we can
picture a school of forage
fish zipping through the
water column. We can
also grasp that the preferred
space for many species might change as the seasons change and
the years pass by. But the rest of the story is not quite so simple,
mostly because life is more complicated and knowledge is often
limited. This month’s “Fish Habitat Connections” seeks to demystify
those details so we can appreciate the intricacies in the
fish habitat world and become more emboldened to serve fish
not just as a meal but as they deserve.
Let’s begin with semantics. Each fish occupies its preferred
niche in the ecosystem. The environmental conditions of that
space define the fish’s preference at each life stage—water
temperature, depth, salinity, flow, bottom type, prey availability                                                annual cycles, and much more. It is important for us
as professionals to place those variables in proper context so
that individual fish can survive, fish stocks can flourish, fishery
management can succeed, and society can benefit from our nation’s
waters.
That simplistic summary reflects our hopes, which are
complicated by the reality that we know very little about our
most basic habitat questions. With luck, we know where fish
live throughout their life cycles. But oft times we have few
insights into the shifting preferences of each life stage. Even
that knowledge is elusive unless we have close observations
from multidecadal stock assessments or the insights offered
by a healthy fishery. Almost universally, we rarely understand
the relationships between fish and their habitat.

If a wetland is
dredged, how will the local fish populations change over the
short and long term? If a dam is breached, will the new hydrological
regime support native species or invite invasive species?
If an acre is protected or restored, how will the population respond?
Will harvests increase?
These issues read like the final program at many an American
Fisheries Society (AFS) conference. They have vexed us
as a profession for decades. We must manage fisheries with the
best available information, scant as it might be. And we must
identify our primary needs so that gaps are addressed.
COLUMN
Fish Habitat Connections There is also the still-new concept of ecosystem-based approaches.
Habitat must be an essential variable in stock assessments,
but those analyses must be conducted with an ecosystem
in mind. Those perspectives can be as important as data. Without
that challenge, we won’t even know we have a data gap.
Considering how complex this simple topic can be, and
how it reflects human pressures from our coasts to the mountains,
it is probably no surprise that we continue to lose habitat
function at alarming rates. Along our oceans, marine and estuarine
wetland loss was three times higher between 2004 and
2009 than in the previous 5 years (Stedman and Dahl 2008;
Dahl 2011). Inland wetland loss is not as severe, but hundreds of
rivers representing thousands of river miles are compromised by
blockages that prevent fish movement upstream or downstream.
The first-ever national fish habitat assessment found that 53%
of our estuaries are at high or very high risk of habitat degradation
(National Fish Habitat Board 2010). Given those numbers,
it is unfortunate that those places provide vital nursery habitats
for many of our favorite fish.
As fishery professionals from all disciplines, our assignment
is to combine our skills to protect important habitats and
restore those that are degraded. Our mission will be slightly
less daunting if we and our partners can set a pace to match
the steady pressure of human population growth and looming
challenges such as climate change. AFS represents an incredible
knowledge base. If anyone can analyze our habitat knowledge,
fill our priority gaps, apply lessons learned, and improve habitats
for the benefit of all, it is us.

More habitat articles at fishiding.com
Next month we will shift from the nuances of semantics
to the harsh realities of the challenge before us. It is imperative
that we engage now! Economic and ecological facts urge AFS,
its units, each of us, and our home institutions to accept the challenge.
We will explain the opportunities before us and how our
collective skills are needed for success.
REFERENCES
Dahl, T.E. 2011. Status and trends of wetlands in the conterminous
United States 2004-2009. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 108 pp.
National Fish Habitat Board. 2010. Through a fish’s eye: the status of
fish habitats in the United States 2010. Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies, Washington, D.C. 68 pp.
Stedman, S., and T. E. Dahl. 2008. Status and trends of wetlands in the
coastal watersheds of the Eastern United States 1998 to 2004. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine
Fisheries Service, and U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 32 pp.

Hooked for life – by Bruce Kania

Hooked for life – by Bruce Kania

May 30, 2013
posted by Anne
IMG_0604Fish Fry Lake may be the best fishing hole in Montana…at least for kids!  The lake is only 6.5 acres, but the water’s invitingly clear and it is extremely easy to catch yellow perch, crappie and bluegills.  Even some Yellowstone Cutthroat trout happen here…which may be their easternmost extension.  Fish grow fast in this lake at Floating Island International’s headquarters 25 miles from Billings, Montana.  Fish Fry Lake is a test site for BioHaven® floating islands as well as other embodiments of BioHaven technology.Last year over forty kids (and a couple adults) caught their very first fish on the lake.  For most of these fisher people it was as simple as attaching a piece of nightcrawler onto a small jig head, then flipping the baited hook into the crystal clear water and watching their line for some indication of a bite.  Typically the line will twitch when a fish picks up the offering, and then it’s a straightforward process.  Lift the rod tip and reel in a scrappy panfish.  Some kids start off with a cane pole, just like I did way back when.  Today there’s even lighter fiberglass extension poles and it’s pretty easy for little guys, and gals, to swing the offering over open water, wait a moment, then pull up a seriously exciting fish!The pond is also home to painted turtles, leopard frogs, bullfrogs, tadpoles, blue herons, mallards, wood ducks, teal, spoonbill, widgeon, yellow and red headed blackbirds, woodpeckers, garter snakes, the occasional bull snake, crawfish, salamanders, Canada geese, osprey and even the occasional Bald Eagle, all of which tend to be of great interest to kids.  As I was growing up there was a similar wetland within walking distance…and kid tracks along the shoreline evidenced fascination with critters and plants, and pretty much everything wild.  Episodes with poison ivy notwithstanding, kids and water and fields and wildlife, they used to go together as naturally as water flows downhill.  Today though, computers seem to have taken over some of that space, some of the territory that used to be reserved for kids and nature to get to know each other. 

We are not against computers!  The advances associated with the huge strides in information transfer technology that we’ve experienced in the last twenty years are life changing, and mostly positive.  But wouldn’t it be ideal if we could retain some connection with nature?  And certainly not just on a computer screen, but in person and up close!  Catching a fish, splashing after a leopard frog, or sneaking up on a big old gander goose is the stuff of childhood, and I don’t think it’s a good thing to miss out on.

I remember a troupe of kids passing by with fishing rods in hand one day last summer, when one of the boys, lagging behind, complained about the sun being “too hot!”  A young gal in the group suggested he “man up”, at which point the young lad was pretty much forced by the amazing power of peer pressure to deal with conditions.  Not sure if those kind of life lessons happen frequently in front of a computer screen.

And kids don’t catch fish automatically.  Not even on Fish Fry.  They must learn the process, think it through, and then connect the dots.  Along the way, with a bit of patience, they are rewarded.  This is good stuff for kids.

There was a young gal that could not handle touching a worm.  When it came to touching a fish, that was at least as bad as the idea of touching a worm.  An hour later she was independently doing both.  Real life lessons, and a new connection with where food comes from.  More good stuff!

Today the majority of fresh water lakes in the U.S. are so nutrient rich that they are at risk of running out of dissolved oxygen, without which fish die.  Fish Fry Lake has turned this condition on its head.  We have learned how to cycle those same nutrients into fish, instead of algae.  Catch rate on Fish Fry is a fish every two minutes on average.  The 6.5 acre lake yielded 5,168 fish last year, which translates to 210 pounds of fish per acre.  And along the way the water in Fish Fry was kept within Cutthroat Trout temperature requirements.  A nearby public lake, with conventional management, yielded about ten pounds of fish per acre.  And those fish were stocked, while Fish Fry’s are wild and naturally reproductive.  In late summer, the bottom half of the public lake is devoid of breathable oxygen.  Trout that were stocked in that lake in the spring have a choice…they can cook in the warm water on top, or suffocate in the stratified cooler water below.  The same conditions repeat themselves in thousands of U.S. waterways every summer.  But it doesn’t have to stay this way.

What if we focussed on our public waterways, especially in cities and villages?  What if we took that water and cycled the nutrients that are already there, into fish?  This is a very real prospect.  We do have the science, and we have the tools.  Dive into our website and keep this vision in mind…of kids catching fish hand over fist.  This is a new vision of abundance, and it’s within reach.  We can concentrate nature’s wetland effect and the result is an upward spiral that leads to both clean water and huge abundance of healthy, vibrant and edible fish.

Following are a few Thank You notes by kids who’ve fished here on Fish Fry:

Dear Ms. Anne and Mr. Bruce.

Thank you for letting us go to Floating Islands.  It was a lot of fun. I loved catching fish.  It was fun.  I like your dogs.  I think the picnic was fun, too.  I think I learned a lot about fishing.  You made my day.  Thank you for everything.
Thank you for letting us fish and play with the dogs.  I caught four fish.  It was awesome!  The floating islands are really cool and I hope to come back again.
I liked….. fishing, seeing the fish.  Thank U.
Thank you for letting us fish for different kinds of fish.  I enjoyed fishing.  I also caught a ton of fish within the small amount of time I spent fishing.  I also enjoyed walking on the floating islands.  I really enjoyed throwing frisbees for the three cute dogs….. I thoroughly enjoyed going to Floating Islands and I hope to come again.  Thank you very much.

– See more at: http://www.floatingislandinternational.com/2013/05/hooked-for-life/#sthash.iT9q5opN.dpuf

SOLitude Lake Management Teaches Over 700 Youth About Fishing

At the Family and Youth Casting Call SOLitude Lake Management Teaches Over 700 Youth About Fishing

SOLitude Lake Management joined the Family and Youth Casting Call to educate children and their families about fishing and how to care for the environment.
More habitat articles at fishiding.com
SLM at Family and Youth Casting Call 2013-1.1
SLM at Family and Youth Casting Call 2013-1.1

May 30, 2013 – Through its corporate volunteering program, The SOLution, SOLitude Lake Management, an industry leader in lake and pond management, fisheries management and related environmental services for the mid-Atlantic and surrounding states, participated in The Family and Youth Casting Call as volunteers, by stocking fish, and as a platinum sponsor of the event. The event was held May 3 – May 4, 2013 at the Fletcher’s Boat House in Washington, D.C. Over 700 youth attended this year.

In its 7th year, this annual event is geared towards getting kids outdoors, active, “hooked” on fishing, and educated about the importance of natural resources. SOLitude stocked just under 2,000 adult bluegill and largemouth bass, including several huge bass, in the C&O Canal for the children to catch and release.

SOLitude Lake Management also donated 97 total volunteer hours and set up a hands-on shad spawning game to demonstrate the shad’s difficult journey downriver to the open ocean, and then back upriver to lay their eggs. The children pretended to be in a simulated water environment, avoiding challenges and potential predators as they made their way through the obstacle course following the shad’s dangerous path.

“It was a really fun opportunity for our team to share our enthusiasm for water resources with the kids,” said Shannon Junior, Aquatic Ecologist and Regional Manager for SOLitude. “Many of them had never caught a fish before, and it’s an experience that they’ll remember forever.”

The SOLution is a company-wide program that encourages the company and all employees to strive to “create a better world” through volunteerism, community outreach, sustainability and environmental consciousness. SOLitude’s company leadership feels it is important to not only be good stewards of the environment and good corporate citizens, but also to fulfill company core values to “take action and be accountable” and to “protect and respect nature.” To participate or share a non-profit’s goals for consideration in The SOLution, contact Tracy King at tking@solitudelake.com.

Since 1998, SOLitude Lake Management has been committed to providing full service lake and pond management services that improve water quality, preserve natural resources, and reduce our environmental footprint. Our services include lake, pond and fisheries management programs, algae and aquatic weed control, installation of fountains and aeration systems, water quality testing and restoration, bathymetry, lake vegetation studies, habitat assessments and nuisance wildlife management. We are the second largest distributor of AquaMaster fountains and aerators internationally and in the U.S. Lake and pond management services are available in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey & New York. Fisheries management consulting and aquatic products are available nationwide. Learn more about SOLitude Lake Management and purchase products at www.solitudelakemanagement.com.

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