The Panama City Field Office is working in Florida, Georgia
and Alabama to restore native gulf striped bass in
the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system.
Dam construction, loss of habitat and poor water quality
are some of the causes for the decline of this sport
fish, as biologists have discovered that striped bass
have difficulty reproducing in the river system.
The Panama City Field Office marks and tracks these
fish to measure population movement, fish growth and the
effectiveness of the project and also serves
as the lead for the ACF striped bass technical committee,
which meets annually to discuss implementation status and
is a member of the GSMFC Anadromous Fish subcommittee.
Gulf of Mexico striped bass restoration activities are
guided by the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River
System Restoration and Evaluation Plan, a part of the
ACF Cooperative Agreement, which is part of the Gulf
States Marine Fisheries Commission Gulf Striped Bass
Fishery Management Plan. As part of this partnership
restoration effort, the Panama City Field Office coordinates
many activities. This includes an annual
meeting with the cooperating agencies in order
to report progress and to discuss stocking goals
and future directions,stocking strategies and implementation
of the stocking plan and transportation
of broodstock collected by state resource
agencies in Florida and Georgia.
Additional Information
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