Effects of Starvation and Time at Stocking on Survival of Stocked Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri

Investigations of effects of starvation and time at stocking on the survival of catchable rainbow trout in two areas of Mammoth Creek in Dixie National Forest, Utah, were conducted from May 24 to December 6, 1969. Fish were starved for 6 days and 1 day and stocked in the morning (5:40-7:00 a.m.) and in the afternoon (1:45-5:30 p.m.). Out of 7,000 tagged fish stocked, 4,751 tags were returned by fishermen. The 6-day starved fish, stocked in the morning returned to the creel in highest numbers (1,240); followed by 1-day starved, afternoon-stocked fish (1,194); 6-day starved, afternoon-stocked fish (1,163); and 1-day starved, morning-stocked fish (1,154). For the entire stream, the main effects of starvation and time at stocking were not significant at the 10 percent level, but their interaction was significant at the 1 percent level. In the upper area, however, both 6-day starved lots returned to the creel in greater numbers (692) than the 1-day starved lots (643), and the main effect of starvation was significant at the 1 percent level in addition to the interaction being significant at the 5 percent level. About 81 percent of the tags returned were from fish caught in the sections stocked. One percent of the tags were from fish that moved upstream and 18 percent from fish that moved approximately 3 miles or less downstream. No consistent downstream movement patterns were related to either starvation or time at stocking. One week after the fishing season, 68 percent of all (19) tagged fish captured by electrofishing were 6-day starved fish, but this difference was not significant at the 10 percent level