Pond Production and Poststocking Survival of Large Fingerling Black Crappies in Florida

Abstract

We cultured fingerling black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus in 0.4-ha hatchery ponds in Florida to evaluate the level of production and estimated short-term (24-h) poststocking survival of fish stocked in Lake Lochloosa, Florida. Production of fingerling black crappies averaged 52,681 fish/ha but was highly variable across ponds (0–168,439 fish/ha). Mean total length (TL) of cultured fish varied across ponds (76–219 mm), averaged 105 (±41) mm, and was inversely related (P = 0.005) to numbers of fish harvested. At the production level that we estimated (52,681 fish/ha), an average of 2 ha of hatchery pond space would be needed to culture a sufficient number of large fingerling black crappies (>76 mm TL) to stock a Florida lake of moderate size (2,000 ha) at 50 fish/ha. Short-term survival of fingerling black crappies was estimated to range from 70% to 100%.