Fate, Dispersal, and Persistence of Recently Stocked and Resident Rainbow Trout in a Tennessee Tailwater

Abstract

A popular trout fishery in the Clinch River below Norris Dam, Tennessee, is maintained by an extensive stocking program. However, survival and return rates of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss stocked as catchables are low. Twenty rainbow trout (mean total length (TL) = 307 mm) that had resided in the tailwater at least 5 months were collected from the river and implanted with radio transmitters in June 1998. Similarly sized rainbow trout were implanted with radio transmitters at a hatchery and stocked into the Clinch River on 8 July 1998 (N = 19; mean TL = 304 mm) and 16 September 1998 (N = 11; mean TL = 311 mm). The stocked rainbow trout dispersed rapidly and nearly all (93%) of those fish died quickly or emigrated from the tailrace. Resident fish were significantly less active than stocked fish, and they persisted significantly longer (Kruskal–Wallis tests, P = 0.0001). Poor return rates and survival of rainbow trout stocked as catchables were attributed to their rapid, long-range movements and high levels of activity. Such behaviors are energetically inefficient and probably rendered them more vulnerable to predation.