252 
Fishery Bulletin 119(4) 
To capture juveniles, we recommend that researchers set 
small-mesh gill nets and initially focus sampling on river 
reaches with water-quality characteristics similar to those 
of the aggregation site in the Brothers River (see Suppl. 
Table 1) (online only). Sampling with anchored nets should 
occur only in appropriate flows—we recommend that 
researchers attempt to determine the relationship between 
discharge and catch per unit of effort of juvenile Gulf stur- 
geon in each river in order to maximize sampling efficiency. 
Once age-1 fish have been located, acoustic telemetry can 
be used to identify the extent of aggregation sites. Mark- 
recapture sampling then should target the identified 
aggregation sites, with additional sampling occurring in 
other river reaches. 
Quantitative estimates of recruitment of Gulf sturgeon 
in other rivers will allow direct comparison between pop- 
ulations, as well as comparisons across time within each 
population. Additionally, telemetry data from age-1 fish 
will help fill important data gaps about juvenile habitat 
utilization. Researchers and managers will be able to 
assess the effects of restoration actions (e.g., dam removal, 
fish passage, and habitat restoration) or environmental 
catastrophes (e.g., oil spills and hurricanes) on recruit- 
ment quickly, rather than having to wait a decade to see 
any changes reflected in the adult population. Addition- 
ally, multiyear sets of recruitment data will allow inves- 
tigation of how variation in annual recruitment relates to 
environmental conditions, such as temperature and river 
discharge (both of which, in the Apalachicola River, are 
influenced by the JWLD). 
Acknowledgments 
We would like to thank the USFWS for funding this work 
and the USFWS Panama City Field Office, St. Joseph Bay 
State Buffer Preserve, and D. Higginbotham for providing 
support. This project was conducted under Florida Fish and 
Wildlife Conservation Commission special activity licenses 
SAL-14-1481-SRP and SAL-15-1481A-SRP. The findings 
and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and 
do not necessarily represent the views of the USFWS. 
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