Category

American Paddlefish

The American Paddlefish, a filter-feeding fish measuring up to 7 feet long and weighing over 200 pounds, has long been native to slow-moving streams of east Texas. However, dam construction, roe harvests, treble-hooking, gill netting, and water pollution have put the fish at risk.

Interviews

Narrator: Tim BisterTitle: Downstream of DamsDuration: 00:03:16Date: July 23, 2020Tim Bister, a biologist and Inland Fisheries Management district supervisor for Texas Parks and Wildlife, has worked on studying and restoring the American paddlefish to its former habitat in east Texas. Much of this effort has focused on mitigating dam impacts. Here he describes how dams can block paddlefish's upstream migrations, cover their gravel spawning shoals in silt, and remove the spawning cue that high spring flows carry.Narrator: Rick LowerreTitle: ComplexityDuration: 00:03:29Date: July 31, 2020Rick Lowerre is the former president and legal counsel for the Caddo Lake Institute. Here he describes the complexity of Caddo Lake's hydrology, especially after human alterations, and how manipulating lake depths and pulse flows can affect the survival and vitality of diverse species in the Lake, ranging from bald cypress to paddlefish, mussels, and alligator snapping turtles.Narrator: Mike MontagneTitle: Migration and ReproductionDuration: 00:02:07Date: July 20, 2020Mike Montagne is a biologist and project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in San Marcos, Texas. In his work over many years to protect and restore paddlefish, he has learned that dams have hurt the species by interfering with their migration routes, spawning shoals, and nursery areas.Narrator: Mike MontagneTitle: Ends of Long LivesDuration: 00:01:44Date: July 20, 2020Mike Montagne is a biologist and project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in San Marcos, Texas. In his work researching paddlefish and other long-lived species, he has come to understand that they can suffer from declines in reproduction and recruitment for many years with little apparent effect, until their populations suddenly but inevitably collapse.