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PIERRE -- Game, Fish and Parks fisheries staff say the predator-prey balance for Lake Oahe is unbalanced, and attempting to restock smelt into Lake Oahe to balance the populations would be unrealistic.
Reservoir Biologist Wayne Nelson-Stastny said when smelt were first
introduced into the Missouri River in 1971, only 7,400 smelt had to be
released into North Dakota^s Lake Sakakawea, which were the initial brood
stock that allowed smelt to become abundant in both Sakakawea and Oahe
reservoirs.
"Stocking prey fish is only done to introduce a fish species into a new
body of water, as was done when smelt were initially stocked," Nelson-Stastny said. "Plenty of smelt to reproduce are still in Oahe. A 1998 hydroacoustic (sonar) survey estimated there were 43 million smelt
one-year of age and older in Lake Oahe, along with 276 million smelt that
hatched that spring.
Oahe has an abundance of small walleye that have too little to eat. Some
anglers are asking, why not stock smelt to feed them?
"To stock the 1996 equivalent amount of smelt into Lake Oahe would require
one truckload of smelt each day for the next 13 years, provided a source for
such a quantity of live smelt could be located, which is virtually
impossible," Nelson-Stastny said.
Patience will be required during the smelt and walleye recovery
period. Such a large system will require several years for smelt numbers to fully recover," according to Nelson-Stastny. "Remember, under optimum
conditions it takes a walleye three years to reach 14 inches in length."
Uploaded: 9/23/1999
Uploaded: 9/23/1999