termination of the rainy reason, there is some int 
the drying of the soil for several days between if age te bia diy Gain the 
remain clear except in a few localized areas that receive rain throughout the year. 
Since the description of individual streams w umin repe 
ould demand 1 = 
tious report, the treatment of stream conditions has been divided ee wees ino fiatetieeees 
one alain pa prepn ty of the Pacific Coast » & second to streams flowing into the 
caribbean ‘Sen, oeikp hird to streams flowing into the Gulf of México. For the purposes of 
brevity and ease comparison, many of the data have been Placed in Tables 1, 2, and 3. 
Streams Flowing into the Pacific Ocean 
With the exception of Rfo de los Esclavos, these str 
eams were t 
permit the collection of information suitable for a description of mech ivatont ag aig ip 
streams in the highlands were mich more accessible than those elsewhere, and, since there is 
mich uniformity in coastal plain and piedmont areas. the 
the three geographic areas. 8, se streams will be discussed under 
The at streams, for the;most part, are not well suited to the development 
of fishing. The Rio Grande de Mita and the Rfo de los Esclavos are exceptions in bint. hey 
appear to have conditions suitable to the development of fishing with the channel catfish 
(Ictalurus lacustris punctatus) and the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). The Rfo 
Grande de Mita was examined only at the town of Asuncion Mita. The Rio de los Esclavos was 
observed at several points between the town of Esclavos and Casillas. These stream sections 
consist of a series of rapid riffles covered with gravel, rubble, and boulders, and long 
quiet and rather deep pools. The stream gradients fall within the requirements of enall— 
mouth bass (0.5 to 5 meters per kilometer), The same is true of the temperature of the 
water. The numerous rock ledges and undercut banks should provide excellent habitat and 
spawning areas for channel catfish. Both streams have an abundance of bottom organisms and 
small fish to support bass and channel catfish. The fishes are pepesca (Astyanax), plateada 
(Roeboides), filin (Rhamdia), butes and pupos (Profundulus, Mollienisia, and Poecilistes), 
cuatro-ojos (Anableps), and five species of mojarras (Cichlasoma). These fishes are little 
utilized by man due to their small size. Seldom do the mojarras grow longer than 15 centi- 
meters, and the other species are smaller. ; 
Fishes introduced into Rfo Grande de Mita probably will become established in 
Lake Guija, part of which is in Guatemala and part in El Salvador. According to informa- 
tion available, the species recommended would not be undesirable fishes for Lake Guija. 
Rfo Aguacapa has considerable area in its headwaters that probably would support 
smallmouth black bass. The smaller tributaries are fed by innumerable small springs that 
provide an abundant flow throughout the dry season. Bottom foods and small fish are 
abundant, but many sections of the stream have gradients too steep for best production of 
smallmouth bass. If they are introduced, it is expected that they will distribute themselves 
in the reaches of suitable gradient, and provide fishing in such areas. The areas utilized 
will change somewhat when the water volume is increased or decreased. 
Rio Michatoya below Lago de Amatitldn and above Escuintla does not have a rich 
‘bottom fauna, because of large amounts of fine volcanic rock, but some fishing can be pro- 
vided in this area with smallmouth bass and channel catfish. The gradient in most areas 
falls within the limits of suitability for smallmouth bass. The numerous rock ledges and 
undercut banks should provide a fair habitat for channel catfish. . 
As far as we know, there are no other streams in the highlands flowing into the 
Pacific Ocean that have sufficient volume during the dry season to permit the development 
of a fishery resource. The small streams on other drainages that flow during the dry 
season could be planted as an experiment after the more desirable streams have been developed. 
Only meagre results can be expected from the experiment. , 
The piedmont is an area from 10 to 30 kilometers wide between the base of the 
mountains and the Pacific coastal plain. The lower limit of this area is about 100 meters 
in elevation, and the upper approximately 300 meters. In this area, there are approximately 
103 
