258 Commercial Aspects of Sport Fishing 



commercial fish dealers who handle large quantities of live fish and supply 

 a number of catch-out pond operators all located within a limited area. 

 In the operation of a catch-out pond, the margin of profit is small, even 

 if all fish arrive in good condition. If a substantial percentage of the fish 

 are injured in the catching or hauling process, the profit may be less. For 

 this reason it is expedient to purchase fish from dealers who know where 

 to obtain live fish that have been carefully handled in seining, and who 

 know how to truck them without injury. 



Dr. Albert Hazzard (personal communication) stated that catch-out 

 ponds in Pennsylvania have been of considerable interest to fishermen, 

 particularly since 1950. In at least one instance, large lake sturgeon were 

 stocked in small numbers in a catch-out pond. The lucky angler who 

 caught one could either keep the fish ( if able to bring it in successfully ) 

 or return it to the pond and receive a reward of $50.00. Blue and flathead 

 catfish exceeding 25 pounds each, are sometimes used in the same way, 

 e.g., as a "come-on" fish to induce fishermen to purchase fishing permits. 



Dr. Hazzard described a trout project where one may fish to his heart's 

 content with barbless artificial flies and return all of the fish that he 

 catches. A season license to fish such a pond is $100 or a daily license 

 may be secured for about $5.00. Surprisingly enough, these particular 

 ponds were paying off well. 



From the biological standpoint there are several probabilities that make 

 the operation of catch-out ponds a financial risk. Not only are fish easily 

 injured in handling and hauling, but when they are stocked in ponds at 

 poundage levels above the natural capacities of tliese ponds to support 

 fish, the total weights of the populations move progressively downward 

 until they approach carrying-capacity poundages (see Chapter 4). If all 

 of the fish are of adult sizes, there is little or no chance of tlieir preying 

 upon one another; instead, all will lose weight. Suppose, for example, a 

 one-acre catch-out pond were stocked with 2250 bullheads weighing 

 one third of a pound each or a total of 750 pounds. If the normal carrying 

 capacity of this pond for bullheads were 300 pounds and fishermen re- 

 moved only 1000 of the 2250 fish originally released, the average weight 

 of those remaining at the end of the season (provided there was no 

 natural mortality) would be 0.24 pound, a weight reduction of more 

 than 25 per cent. These bullheads would probably be so thin that they 

 would scarcely interest anglers or fish buyers. Although artificial feeding 

 might help to maintain their weight, the high oxygen demand of the in- 

 creased organic waste might jeopardize the actual survival of the fish. 

 Moreover, fish foods are expensive and if the margin of profit were small 

 to begin with, the operation might not stand the added cost. 



The constant threat of disease and parasites in catch-out ponds is very 

 real because the fish may come from many sources, and because fish are 



