The following resume of the fishery man- 

 agement program and the Montana fish hatch- 

 ery system is presented for your information, 

 and if there are any questions, may we suggest 

 that they be referred to the people who are 

 continually working at these problems and are 

 familiar with the answers and information 

 that may be \'aluable to you. 



Department personnel work in knee-deep muck during 

 a rehabilitation project. 



GENERAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 



General fisheries management covers all 

 aspects of fisheries outside of fish propagation. 

 It is concerned with fish losses, including those 

 caused by the shrinking of fish habitat, with 

 the proper use ot hatchery fish, with stream 

 and lake improvement and rough fish eradica- 

 tion, with fishermen access, with the creation 

 of new fishing waters, and with investigation 

 of management problems. This is the work of 

 the fishery biologist. Much of it is supported 

 with federal aid funds. Some of the more de- 

 tailed studies are made in cooperation with the 

 Zoology and Entomology Department of Mon- 

 tana State College. 



The following is a summary of representa- 

 tive projects undertaken during the bienniuni 



Luke and Slreuiii Survey 



Sometimes the remark is made "the state 

 has been surveying waters for five years now, 

 how come the suiveys are not all completed?" 

 True, biological .surveys have been conducted 

 on many Montana waters already. H()we\er. 

 only a beginning has been made, particularly 

 when the many remote mountain lakes and 

 smaller streams ;iro cnnsidercfl. Olniouslv, a 



knowledge of the characteristics of each water 

 and its fish population is essential to proper 

 management. In addition, fisheries surveys are 

 the backbone of the stream classification under- 

 taken by the Montana Pollution Council in 

 establishing adequate pollution control stand- 

 ards. Follow-up surveys are even more import- 

 ant than initial surveys since changes can be 

 detected, management measures evaluated, and 

 remedies applied as needed. 



A .survey of particular importance during 

 the biennium was one made in connection with 

 Nine Mile Prairie Reservoir on the Blackfoot 

 River, a large re.servoir planned by the U. S. 

 Bureau of Reclamation. Chemical treatment of 

 the site before impoundment is being consid- 

 ered to eliminate rough fish. Such questions 

 arose as: What is the distribution of rough fish 

 in the drainage; that is. how many miles of 

 stream and how many lakes must be treated? 

 Are fish barriers needed to prex-ent recontami- 

 nation from rough fish downstream? What will 

 be the cost of this work including replanting? 

 The fisheries survey in 1957 disclosed 135 miles 

 of stream and at least 15 lakes would have to 

 be treated. Two fish barriers are needed and 

 nearly 12,000.000 rainbow trout required for 

 replanting. The total cost for fisheries work to 

 minimize damage from construction of the 

 re-servoir is $1,125,000.00. This cost estimate 

 has been furnished to the constructing agency 

 for inclusion with project costs. 



Lake and Stream Reliabililatioii 



RehabiUtation. as popularly u.sed by fish- 

 er>' workers, means chemically eradicating all 

 fish from a body of water that is over-run with 

 undesirable species. After the chemicals have 

 dissipated, game fish are planted. In 1957 

 alone, 15 lakes were treated and comprised a 

 total of 4.500 surface acres of water when full. 

 Results have often been spectacular. Small fish 

 planted in these waters often grow as fast as 

 they do in hatcheries. Growths of an inch a 

 month are not unusual. Use of this tool is 

 limited by its cost. The average cost for the 

 chemicals alone in 1957 was $1.77 per acre foot. 



F^ollow-up studies on the Marias Drainage 

 which was chemically treated in 1955 showed 

 that the primary purpo.sc of eliminating carp 

 and goldeye from the drainage above Tiber 

 Dam was accompli.shed. At the time of this 

 writing no carp or goldeye have been found and 



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