Fishery Responses to Habitat Restoration in Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida

Abstract

During the 1987 drawdown of Lake Tohopekaliga, 19 km of degraded littoral zone were restored when approximately 165,000 m3 of sediments were removed. Electrofishing data from 1988 and 1989 indicated median catch per effort for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus, and forage fish was significantly greater in restored sites than in nonrestored sites. Median catch-per-effort values in restored sites also were higher for bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, but the differences were statistically significant only in 1988. Sampling in shallow water with Wegener rings in 1988 indicated that age-0 largemouth bass and other sport fish were more abundant in restored sites than control sites. Sport fish reproduction was reduced in restored sites during 1989 and could not be detected in control sites. We conclude that in Lake Tohopekaliga, an extreme drawdown coupled with mechanical removal of organic sediments from the littoral zone provided an immediate positive fisheries response.