Implications of Reduced Stocking Frequencies on Fishing Quality in the

Arkansas Urban Fishing Program

Authors: Tom Lang, Wes Neal, and Cliff Hutt

Declines in recreational fishing participation, under-representation of women and minorities among the angling population, and increased urban immigration and sprawl has prompted the development of urban fishing programs. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) initiated their urban fishing program, the Family and Community Fishing Program (FCFP), in 2001. The FCFP stocks channel catfish biweekly from April to August and rainbow trout from December to March. Biweekly stocking has high transportation and personnel costs, and reducing stocking frequency to monthly would reduce these costs. In this study, the effects of stocking frequency on fishing quality and angler satisfaction were determined for biweekly and monthly (double density) stocking regimes. Stocking frequencies were randomly assigned to ponds, and reversed in the second year of the study. Bus-route roving creel surveys were used to collect angler catch, effort, and satisfaction data. There were no significant differences detected between stocking frequencies for effort, catch, harvest, or angler satisfaction ratings. Thus, AGFC can stock fish in the FCFP monthly as opposed to the current biweekly schedule without causing detrimental effects to fishing quality, as long as the same density of fish are stocked.