Black Bass Conservation Summit
Members of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation’s North American Black Bass Coalition (NABBC) joined B.A.S.S. state Conservation Directors and a number of state Fish Chiefs to take part in the B.A.S.S-sponsored Conservation Summit, an event held in Shreveport, LA in conjunction with the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. The goal of the Summit was to review the status and issues on the conservation, management, and ecology of black bass. This Summit was deemed a "huge success," and the article summarizing it is available on the Bassmaster website.
One day of the Summit was an interactive workshop that began with a series of research presentations designed to share the latest information on a variety of relevant topics. The first topic was “Fishing for Nesting Bass.” Cory Suski summarized the impacts of bed fishing on individual males, while Dave Philipp and Mike Allen provided a review of “Perspectives from North and South” on how those impacts might/might not impact bass populations and how that might vary across latitudes. Jeff Koppelman and Mike Allen spoke about largemouth bass stocking practices and current trends in fish culture, as well as the practice of illegal stocking by anglers. Additional presentations addressed various other effects of angling: the potential for long-term evolutionary changes in behavior and life history by David Philipp; the relationship between spatial patterns in bass habitat use and angling effort by Brain Matthias of the University of Florida; and an update on tournament mortality issues, C&R impacts on growth, and the Alabama Rig by Gene Gilliland of B.A.S.S. Participants were then split into eight breakout groups where they developed an extensive list of needs in the areas of research, management, and education & outreach for improving the conservation of the black basses.
The podcasts from these talks are available here.
After a plenary discussion to focus the lists into a manageable number of recommendations, participants voted on which were the highest priority to address right now. The top issues selected were tournament fish care, habitat loss, aging reservoirs, and effects of non-native species. The results from these discussions should serve as the basis for an action plan for B.A.S.S. to implement. FCF is excited to continue to work with B.A.S.S. to tackle these issues to improve black bass fisheries throughout their range.
2012 Conservation Summit at the Bassmaster Classic
Clarion Hotel — Shreveport, LA
February 23-26, 2012
General Overview
Friday, February 24:
- National Fish Habitat Partnerships
- National and State Legislative Updates
- Working with your Legislators
- B.A.S.S. Conservation Directors Sessions
Saturday, February 25:
Fisheries Management Workshop
Moderated by Mike Allen, Gene Gilliland, and Noreen Clough, with presentations scientists from the Fisheries Conservation Foundation (Cory Suski, Mike Allen, Jeff Koppelman, and David Philipp)
- Presentations
- Fishing during spawning season
- Illegal fish stocking
- New trends in fish stocking
- Population level vulnerability to angling
- Spatial patterns in bass habitat use
- Tournament mortality: issues, updates, catch & release impacts
- Advances in techniques/tools
- The Process Behind Fisheries Management: The science behind fisheries management regulations.
- Break Out Sessions
- Management needs for black bass fisheries
- Science and outreach needs for black bass fisheries
- Luncheon – hosted by the Fisheries Conservation Foundation
- Reports: Major issues for black bass fisheries in this country. What are the priority management and science/outreach needs?
- Conservation Recognition Banquet: Jim Martin, Berkley Conservation Institute, keynote speaker. Hosted by B.A.S.S., Berkley/Purefishing and Floating Islands International
Sunday, February 26:
- State Perspectives: How to cooperatively address black bass management, outreach and science needs
- Federal Update: The FWS Fisheries Program and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives
- Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink – Jim Martin, Berkley Conservation Institute
- Adjourn