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Fisheries Monitoring in Pool 13, Upper Mississippi River, from Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, 1989-2013

Bowler, Melvin C. 2013. Fisheries Monitoring in Pool 13, Upper Mississippi River, from Long Term Resource Monitoring Program, 1989-2013. An Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Report. 31 pp. (Please request reprints of the document from the author, Melvin Bowler).

Abstract

Fisheries monitoring as part of the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program has been conducted on Pool 13 of the Upper Mississippi River since 1989. In this span, over 825,000 fish representing 88 species were collected in Pool 13. Eight of these species are currently listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the State of Iowa. Fisheries monitoring in 2013 represented the twenty-first year of stratified random sampling. A total of 300 fish samples were completed in 2013, yielding 13,048 fish of 58 species. Emerald shiner ranked first in total abundance during 1989-2013, with mimic shiner ranked second and bluegill third. Freshwater drum, largemouth bass, white bass, black crappie, and common carp were the next most abundant non-prey species collected. Population trends for selected species were analyzed using 1991-2013 monitoring data. The highest mean catch-per-unit-effort for common carp, freshwater drum, and white bass occurred in 1994. Catch rates for black crappie from 2006-2011 were the lowest on record. In 2013, above average abundance of channel catfish was observed in small hoop nets, although the average age-0 abundance was well below average in tailwater trawling. For the period of stratified random sampling, peak abundances for black crappie, bluegill, shovelnose sturgeon, and yellow perch occurred in 2012.

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