Posted 11:15 pm Monday, March 22, 2010
Nursery To Help East Texas Lakes
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
ATHENS — Jeff Moore enjoys fishing near his house on Cedar Creek Lake.
Moore, who lives in the Dallas area, found another spot to fish this week in a pond at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.
“In most cases, we’re catching and releasing. We’re more in it for the sport of it,” he said as he stood next to his 10-year-old son Dawson.
Julie Mullender, who also was at the fisheries center with her children, said she typically fishes a few times a year.
Staff Writer
ATHENS — Jeff Moore enjoys fishing near his house on Cedar Creek Lake.
Moore, who lives in the Dallas area, found another spot to fish this week in a pond at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.
“In most cases, we’re catching and releasing. We’re more in it for the sport of it,” he said as he stood next to his 10-year-old son Dawson.
Julie Mullender, who also was at the fisheries center with her children, said she typically fishes a few times a year.
“Our kids enjoy it, so it’s fun for the whole family,” Ms. Mullender said.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department representatives hope that construction of a new native aquatic vegetation nursery will result in better fishing for people such as Moore and Ms. Mullender.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department representatives hope that construction of a new native aquatic vegetation nursery will result in better fishing for people such as Moore and Ms. Mullender.
The nursery, located at the fisheries center, will include plants such as Wild Celery, American Pondweed, Illinois Pondweed and Water Stargrass.
Plants that are grown there will be placed in Texas reservoirs to provide a better habitat for fish and thus improve fishing.
Plants that are grown there will be placed in Texas reservoirs to provide a better habitat for fish and thus improve fishing.
The East Texas Woods and Waters Foundation committed $25,000 for the project, and the agency is hoping to come in under their budget.
Richard Ott Jr., fisheries biologist with TPWD, said the agency has been experimenting with techniques to establish native plant communities in Texas reservoirs during the past 10 years.
“We want a diverse native plant aquatic community,” he said. “We don’t want to see the monoculture.”
Ott said the department developed a series of techniques that worked well, allowing them to select species that would be conducive to reservoirs.
TPWD eventually bought plants for the nursery through the Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility.
“They were the only source we could get plants from, and they were also partners in research,” he said.
Ott said the plants, contained in 4-inch plastic pots, cost $12.50 each. He said the agency will save money in not having to buy plants every year.
“We will be raising them ourselves (in the nursery) without having to purchase them from (the research facility) …,” he said. “By raising our own plants and utilizing raceways, we should be able to produce these inexpensively.”
The nursery currently consists of nine raceways, each 4 feet wide and 16 feet long.
Based on calculations, Ott said the agency should be able to produce 2,000 plants a year.
Ott said that although TPWD will start with Wild Celery, American Pondweed, Illinois Pondweed and Water Stargrass, it plans to add more in the future.
That could include the Duck Potato, Water Willow, American Lotus, White Water Lily, Yellow Water Lily and Soft-stem Spike-rush.
Plants will grow until they colonize a pot, and a portion of the plants then would be placed in the reservoirs, Ott said.
Exactly which reservoirs has not been determined, he said, but the criteria most likely will be similar to how they make decisions in regards to stocking fish.
He said the ultimate goal with placing these plants is better fishing, better water quality and reducing shoreline erosion.
“In general, we’re trying to take these artificial systems and make them more natural,” Ott said.
He also noted that the plants going into the reservoirs are attractive species, and anything done to enhance aesthetics can enhance real estate value.
As the agency waits to see those benefits come to fruition, construction of the nursery is well underway.
Construction began Feb. 22. One raceway is completely done, and the other eight raceways have frames but still need liners.
TPWD intends to have the raceways completed by the end of April.
“We know how important this is to game fish and nongame fish,” Ott said. “It’s a long process for plants to be established on their own. If we don’t fill that nitch with these native species, it will be filled with exotic plants that don’t stay in balance with the native ecosystem.”
Jim Matthews, hatchery manager at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, said the nursery is an important first step for establishing native species over exotic species in the reservoirs.
“They have natural controls. They don’t get out of hand like the imported species. Fish are adapted to using them,” he said.
If there are too many exotic plants, he said it can affect oxygen levels, which in turn puts a stress on fish.
Moore said he thinks the nursery is a good idea from an environmental standpoint.
It’s great “to keep wildlife fishery where we’re not abusing what the sport is,” he said.
Ms. Mullender agreed.
“It would be good if it is helping with natural things and helping keep things in balance,” she said. That “is beneficial for recreation.”
Richard Ott Jr., fisheries biologist with TPWD, said the agency has been experimenting with techniques to establish native plant communities in Texas reservoirs during the past 10 years.
“We want a diverse native plant aquatic community,” he said. “We don’t want to see the monoculture.”
Ott said the department developed a series of techniques that worked well, allowing them to select species that would be conducive to reservoirs.
TPWD eventually bought plants for the nursery through the Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility.
“They were the only source we could get plants from, and they were also partners in research,” he said.
Ott said the plants, contained in 4-inch plastic pots, cost $12.50 each. He said the agency will save money in not having to buy plants every year.
“We will be raising them ourselves (in the nursery) without having to purchase them from (the research facility) …,” he said. “By raising our own plants and utilizing raceways, we should be able to produce these inexpensively.”
The nursery currently consists of nine raceways, each 4 feet wide and 16 feet long.
Based on calculations, Ott said the agency should be able to produce 2,000 plants a year.
Ott said that although TPWD will start with Wild Celery, American Pondweed, Illinois Pondweed and Water Stargrass, it plans to add more in the future.
That could include the Duck Potato, Water Willow, American Lotus, White Water Lily, Yellow Water Lily and Soft-stem Spike-rush.
Plants will grow until they colonize a pot, and a portion of the plants then would be placed in the reservoirs, Ott said.
Exactly which reservoirs has not been determined, he said, but the criteria most likely will be similar to how they make decisions in regards to stocking fish.
He said the ultimate goal with placing these plants is better fishing, better water quality and reducing shoreline erosion.
“In general, we’re trying to take these artificial systems and make them more natural,” Ott said.
He also noted that the plants going into the reservoirs are attractive species, and anything done to enhance aesthetics can enhance real estate value.
As the agency waits to see those benefits come to fruition, construction of the nursery is well underway.
Construction began Feb. 22. One raceway is completely done, and the other eight raceways have frames but still need liners.
TPWD intends to have the raceways completed by the end of April.
“We know how important this is to game fish and nongame fish,” Ott said. “It’s a long process for plants to be established on their own. If we don’t fill that nitch with these native species, it will be filled with exotic plants that don’t stay in balance with the native ecosystem.”
Jim Matthews, hatchery manager at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, said the nursery is an important first step for establishing native species over exotic species in the reservoirs.
“They have natural controls. They don’t get out of hand like the imported species. Fish are adapted to using them,” he said.
If there are too many exotic plants, he said it can affect oxygen levels, which in turn puts a stress on fish.
Moore said he thinks the nursery is a good idea from an environmental standpoint.
It’s great “to keep wildlife fishery where we’re not abusing what the sport is,” he said.
Ms. Mullender agreed.
“It would be good if it is helping with natural things and helping keep things in balance,” she said. That “is beneficial for recreation.”
