VID00016 ( .pdf )

BIENNIAL REPORT


GAME
& FRESH WATER FIS-H
COMMISSION


BIENNIUM ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1950




















LOUIS G. MORRIS
Commissioner


D. C. JONES
Commissioner


r" ,3' "" ;








COLEMAN NEWMAN BEN McLAUCHLIN
Commission Director Ass't Director















M. C. LEWIS MILLER V. JOINER
Commissioner Commissioner


















Game and Fresh Water Fish
Commission
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
31 December 1950


COMMISSION MEMBESRB
CECIL M. WEB. CHAI55A1
... R .JOIER. J- I.
LOUIS G, MORRIS. MOTICLLO
D. C. JONES. NAPLeI
M. C. LEWIS. 05RL5ND
JOHN 0. JACKSON. J-C0H-C


Honorable Fuller Warren
Governor of Florida
State Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida
Dear Governor Warren:
Herewith is submitted the biennial report of the State Game and
Fresh Water Fish Commission for the period ending December 31, 1950.
Through this letter and report we wish to express to you, to members
of the State Legislature, and to the Public, appreciation for the
interest and vision which make possible continued achievement in
the conservation of Florida's fish and wildlife.


Respectfully submitted,


CMW/ak ha
CS/ak Cecil M. Webb, Chairnan









5'


"*tead FLORIDA WILDLIFE-Florida's OWN Outdoor 1Magazine"


C




cThe Peop e of k e StateC of floridca


Game Fresh afcer F/sh Com m issior
PI/ VE t= /V/B.E /A4 S)S
-D/i re t 0c 1or
Cscsi crKin adnir i5racfo n
I Generau/ldmiistirafionl









7Te

COMMISSION'S

REPORT


COLEMAN NEWMAN
Director
BEN McLAUCHLIN
Assistant Director






HOLU FLOI DAY'S
Conservation Do la r
IS SPENT


/ azw Enforcemen/
- school
/Cc co un fin1










GENERAL ACTIVITIES


DURING 1949-50, the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
made definite progress in all phases of conservation work. In
general, the Commission has devoted its time to a continued ex-
pansion of activities and a streamlining of its methods of procedure.
Purchase of permanent quarters for the Tallahassee office of the
Commission was probably one of the outstanding improvements of
the biennium. With its own building, located at 307 East Lafayette
Street, Tallahassee, the Commission has been able to consolidate
its office activities, with a resulting increase in efficiency.
The Tallahassee office building, incidentally, was named the
"Ben C. Morgan Building" in honor of the late Ben C. Morgan,
Director, who passed away in March, 1949, while in performance of
his duties. The death of Morgan, who was credited with being an
enthusiastic, capable and tireless worker for conservation in all of
its many phases, was received with shock and sadness by conserva-
tionists and sportsmen throughout the state.
Coleman Newman, assistant director under Morgan, succeeded
Morgan in the position of director.
In game management, the biennium was marked by continued
progress, including the purchase of lands opened to public hunting,
and acquisition of public hunting rights to private lands. The Game
Management Division has also devoted its energies to making
surveys, investigations and inventories of wildlife in the state. This
work, of course, was in addition to the normal management work
of the biennium, which included such varied activities as the trap-
ping of quail (7,500 in 1949 and 8,500 in 1950), for release in over-
shot areas; the purchase out-of-state and release in Florida of 639
Wisconsin deer and 144 Texas deer, and the trapping and release
in underpopulated areas of 224 wild turkeys.
In the Fish Management Division, outstanding work was done in
undertaking the initial phase of a survey of the St. Johns River and
Lake Okeechobee fisheries. This survey is still in progress and
initial reports have been ade. Since January, 1950, the Division has
also made a special effort to obtain complete records of all fresh
water fish taken by commercial fishermen, as required by the
Statutes of Florida. Data received is believed to be more than 90
percent complete.










/0 194445 45i464645 448 48-49 4950

/p1 /01309--
/oo7 IQ00766
96645
^ 90_-

S80--636

70 36
l 7-









Outstanding progress has been achieved in law enforcement work,
with a number of important policy changes being adopted. The
Law Enforcement Division now operates under the direct super-
vision of the Commission's Assistant Director, and each of the five
conservation districts is supervised by a Chief Wildlife Officer.
Each district is divided into areas, under the jurisdiction of Area
Supervisors.
The Law Enforcement Division has also streamlined its force of
personnel, and is now employing fewer wildlife officers than
formerly, but is now using a more efficient type of manpower
acquired through a higher scale of salaries. The Division has also
acquired new uniforms for all of its enforcement officers, as well
as additional equipment including four airplanes (one seaplane, one
amphibian, and two land planes) for use in observation work, as
well as additional vehicles such as Jeeps, swamp buggies and air
boats.
Outstanding in progress in law-enforcement work was the acquisi-
tion of a wildlife officers training school in Williston. Eight classes
of 20 wildlife officers have attended the school to date, receiving a
rigid 28-day curriculum of practical training.
Panther and black bear, Florida's two big game animals, were placed on the
protected game list in 1950.


T/ 'Y'










In public information and education work, the Commission has
seen a rapid growth in the importance and duties of its Information
and Education Division, resulting increase in general public interest
in the problems of wildlife conservation. Information and Education
took a long step forward by inaugurating its wild animal and bird
zoo at the Florida Boy's Industrial School in Marianna. The Division
also made several vital changes in its monthly magazine, FLORIDA
WILDLIFE, by accepting advertising for the first time and also
putting the magazine on a $1.00 annual subscription basis, in order
to help defray the costs of publication.
Information and Education has also had to enlarge and increase
all of its services, including public speaking, newspaper releases,
fair exhibits, special promotions such as the Fishathons for children,
and film library.
LICENSE SALES BY C3UNTIES-1948-49

1948-1949 FISHING 1948-49 HUNTING
Non- Non-
Resident Resident Resident Resident
Alachua ............... 6,557 1,251 3,661 16
Baker. ................... 915 14 686 9
Bay. ................... 6,407 1,435 1,674 15
Bradford................ 1,240 160 630 6
Brevard................. 1,253 967 1,37!9 29
Broward................ 4,691 1,110 )42 6
Calhoun ................. 1,682 6,324 896 37
Charlotte................ 317 146 291 55
Citrus........... ....... 2,733 4,662 1,152 138
Clay.................... 1,756 259 857 8
Collier................... 202 54 402 8
Columbia........ ........ 1,523 281 1,248 13
Dade................... 8,107 458 3,974 12
De Soto ............... 1,178 117 709 7
D ixie................... 289 261 922 8
Duval .................. 20,168 701 6,508 27
Esaml ia. ................ 5,983 254 4,652 14 I
Flagler................... 159 60 376 1
Franklin................ 481 1,028 431 26
Gadsden................ 2,707 3,013 2,412 15
Gilchrist ................ 624 52 718 1
Glades................... 767 475 177 3
Gulf .................... 1,573 2,925 810 25
Hamilton................ 273 654 606 24
H ardee .................. 1,556 84 908 ...........
Hendry ................. 2,239 946 734 17
HIernando............... 1,252 221 1,161 6
Highlands............... 2,858 1,258 616 9
Hillsborough ............. 18,158 625 5,745 22
Holhnes................. 1,342 2,694 924 22
Indian River............. 675 177 456 9
Jackson ................. 1,516 1,257 2,090 19
Jefferson ................ 538 988 740 191
Lafayette................ 570 52 561 5










The Commission has also made vital changes in its Communica-
tions Section, originally set up in late 1948 as a part of the Law
Enforcement Division, by giving it its own budget and operating
framework. In a short time, Communications has grown into a full-
fledged unit, operating sixty two-way radios, and ten portable pack-
set radios. Besides installing this equipment in Commission vehicles,
Communications has also devoted much of its time to an entire
modification of all its field radios.
In the line of special projects, the Commission achieved a closed
season on alligators for the first time, acting on recommendations
of its eight-member board of advisers. Another project was the
preliminary work necessary for the proposed establishment of a
refuge for the famous miniature Key Deer which are rapidly
nearing extinction.
LICENSE SALES BY COU TIES-1948-49-Continuedl

1948-1949 FISHING 1948-1949 HUNTING
Non- Non-
Resident Resident Resident Resident
Lake.................... 4,296 5,541 2,176 47
Lee..................... 1,456 450 973 21
Leon.................... 4,797 5,065 4,611 274
Levy.................... 834 106 1,993 15
Liberty................. 616 424 633 11
Madison ................ 784 297 758 30
M anatee................ 2,101 311 1,017 11
M arion.................. 5,008 6,644 4,158 94
M artin.................. 664 430 329 22
M onroe ................. 18 ............ 64 ............
Nassau.................. 398 211 1,397 11
Okaloosa................ 1,432 974 2,503 43
Okeechobee.............. 1,554 1,150 351 11
Orange.................. 13,311 3,923 2,980 33
Osceola................. 1,435 974 870 9
Palm Beach. ............. 4,894 802 1,938 19
Pasco................... 2,169 348 1,177 8
Pinellas................. 5,703 774 1,662 20
Polk.................... 13,043 2,671 5,304 13
Putnam ................. 1,904 1,672 1,969 11
St. Johns................ 853 172 2,047 9
St. Lucie................ 1,027 299 635 3
Santa Rosa .............. . 1,027 235 2,195 10
Sarasota.................. 1,586 361 826 8
Seminole .............. 3,200 845 1,167 22
Sumter................... 2,498 1,011 1,264 21
Suwannee............... 1,589 120 1,255 19
Taylor.................. 841 846 1,603 25
U nion................... 343 27 315 ............
Volusia.................. 4,649 1,783 3,801 22
W akulla................. 1,256 2,551 1,004 142
W alton.................. 604 1,397 1,510 31
Washington.............. 1,968 6,484 955 13
Grand Total......... 190,147 83,861 105,494 1,831









The commission also hopes to continue and expand its scientific
research program. Within a period of five years it is hoped that
careful study can be made of virtually every fresh water body in
the state in an effort to improve sports fishing. More and more
study will be devoted to quail, dove and waterfowl. From these
studies will come the solution to our wildlife problem.
A vastly more expanded conservation education program will be
activated. More work will be done in the schools in an effort to
train the sportsmen of tomorrow in the ways of conservation.
Text books will be prepared and visual educational facilities will
be explored to the fullest. All this will cost money; perhaps a
great deal of money. However, every modern sportsman knows
that the dollars spent for conservation today are buying a priceless
heritage for the generations to come.
LICENSE SALES BY COUNTIES-1949-50

1949 -50 FISHING 1949-50 lHUNTING
Non- Non-
Resident Resident Resident Resident
Alachua................. 6,654 1,831 3,389 18
llaker................. 7!4 15 655 4
Hay. .................. 6,843 1,351 1,461 24
Bradford .. ............. 1,218 137 586 6
Brevard .......... .... 1,359 887 1,302 42
Broward................ 4,536 1,217 1,007 7
Calhoun ............... 2,035 6,503 848 19
Charlotte.............. 233 70 303 53
Citrus ........... ..... 4,093 5,118 1,146 135
Clay ..... ............. 2,532 391 829 9
Collier. . ....... ...... 175 76 468 5
Columbia................. 1,851 323 1,154 15
D ade.................... 6,479 364 3,822 11
De Soto................. 1,008 70 613 6
Dixie ............... 273 483 681 10
Duval................... 19,735 589 5,890 26
Escambia ....... .. 6,921 275 4,613 9
Flagler. ...... . . . 145 55 390 3
Franklin . .. . . ... 472 962 398 36
Gadsden. ................ 3,005 3,08( 2,152 17
Gilchrist ................ I 743 120 573 7
Glades. . . . .. . 636 386 151 9
Gulf .................... 1,907 3,188 797 2.
Hamilton . . . . . ...... 275 660 483 15
Hardee ......... ........ 1,537 86 872 3
Henry ............. ..... 1,808 785 694 8
Hernando. ........ .. . 2,733 269 947 9
Highlands............... 2,768 1,253 682 12
Hillsborough. ........... 7,521 322 5,552 8
Holmes .... .. ........ . . 1,558 3,026 931 24
Indian River............. 596 161 417 10
Jackson ... ............ 1,987 1,930 1,990 18
Jefferson ... . ...... 489 1,042 571 165
Lafayette ............. .. 442 62 420 3









In summary, the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission has
progressed in many fields during the biennium, and has accomp-
lished the formation and adoption of many new methods of
procedure in its conservation work. Much of the progress made
during the two-year period has been immediately visible, while
other long-range improvements will not be evident for some time.









LICENSE SALES BY COUNTIES-1949-50-Continued

1949-50 FISHING 1940-50 HUNTING

Non- Non-
Resident Resident Resident Resident

Lake.................... 4,382 6,169 2,006 4o
Lee..................... 1,298 357 1,003 14
Leon .................... 4,406 6,127 3,383 292
Levy.................... 1,159 274 1,769 8
Liberty................. 716 977 530 11
Madison................ 812 435 614 33
Manatee .............. 2,19 L 241 914 7
M arion.................. 4,871 6,804 3,653 79
M artin.................. 562 346 299 18
M onroe ... ............. 12 .......... .. 59 ............
Nassau... .............. 406 169 1,170 5
Okaloosa ............. 1,723 941 2,596 51
Okeechobee. ............ 1,498 1,001 362 13
Orange.................. 12,600 3,893 2,686 21
Osceola ............... 1,418 936 743 6
Palm Beach............. 3,889 689 1.895 20
Pasco ................... 3,537 371 1,0/' 7
Pinellas ................. 6,697 759 1,51!) 12
Polk .................. 15,157 3,752 4,955 17
Putnam .............. .. 1,837 1,768 1,826 14
St. Johns................ 877 210 1 902 3
St. Lucie................ 880 261 550 4
Santa Rosa ............ 1,130 191 1,916 9
Sarasota ................. 1,599 291 751 9
Seminole .............. 3,178 738 1,058 15
Sumter................... 3,228 1,021 1,081 13
Suwannee ............... 1,640 243 1,105 6
Taylor................... 882 1,255 1,414 16
Union................... 336 17 233
Volusia.................. 4,223 1,826 3,496 28
W akulla................. 1,182 2,655 942 183
W alton.................. 747 2,172 1,466 24
Washington.............. 1,921 6,283 856 18

Grand Total......... 186,265 90,245 96,645 1,771








GAME
MANAGEMENT
DIVISION


0. EARLE FRYE, JR.
Chief Wildlife Biologist
EDWARD B. CHAMBERLAIN, JR.
Asst. Chief Wildlife Biologist














GAME MANAGEMENT



THE past two years were marked by continued progress in wild-
life management. Three major factors combined to bring this about:
(1) The Constitutional Amendment of 1942, which enabled the
Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to proceed in wildlife
restoration with a minimum of political interference. (2) The de-
mand backed by sportsmen for sound wildlife management prac-
tices to procure better hunting on the ever decreasing hunting
territory for the ever increasing army of hunters. (3) Pittman-
Robertson appropriations which have continued to make funds
available for a constructive research, development, and land ac-
quisition program.
This period has witnessed further employment of men trained in
the science of wildlife management; a greater emphasis on sound
wildlife management practices as determined by the research pro-
gram; a continuation of a well balanced research program designed
to diagnose the basic causes of game shortages and to work out
methods of remedying such shortages; and a tremendous increase
in the amount of land acquired for the development of public
hunting areas. Accompanying these activities has been further
minimization of such popular but generally unproductive so-called
conservation measures as haphazard restocking and predator
control.
There is a gradual, almost reluctant, acceptance of a realistic
viewpoint toward wildlife management; a realization that wildlife
management is not simply restocking with game, employment of
additional game wardens, or setting of hunting seasons, but instead
is a tremendous complexity of biological, human, and economic
relationships.
Florida has definitely passed through the "save what we have
left", politically run phase of wildlife management and is headed
toward a progressive program which will result in an increased
harvestable surplus of game for the Florida sportsman.








The most important game birds and mammals of Florida are
the bobwhite quail, the white-tailed deer, the wild turkey, the
several breeds of wild ducks and geese, the mourning dove and
the grey squirrel. These animals will be taken up individually
later in this report with brief remarks as to the steps that have
been taken toward their management. Following the discussion of
individual species will be a brief report of Pittman-Robertson
activities.

Acquisition of Land for Public Hunting
Particularly outstanding among game management activities
during the past two years have been those activities designed to
furnish hunting to the general public either through the purchase
of land or the acquisition of hunting rights on private land.
The lands at present either belonging to the Commission or
under a game management agreement between the Commission
and private or Federal owners are approximately 918,000 acres
open to controlled public hunting, 841,000 acres open to uncon-
trolled public hunting, and 899,000 acres in breeding grounds.
Most pressing is the need for adequate protection and establish-
ment of controlled hunts on the 841,000 acres now open to uncon-
trolled public hunting and at present not supporting a fraction of
the game of which they are capable. In addition, certain portions
Adequate game management funds are needed to furnish hunting acreage for
the 'little' hunter.













41 vv'









of the 899,000 acres of Commission managed lands now in
breeding grounds can be opened to public hunting when adequate
game management funds are available to produce a surplus of
game on such areas and protect it against overshooting.
Besides the above lands now available for management, the
Commission has unlimited opportunities of acquiring, through co-
operative agreements, public hunting rights on private lands. Under
the terms of such agreements, the Commission, by furnishing wild-
life officers and such services as fencing or fence maintenance, offers
the landowner assistance in protecting and managing his property,
plus the public good will that accompanies the knowledge that he
is contributing his land for public hunting. The Commission, during
the past two years, has entered agreements with private land-
owners which permit the operation of controlled public hunts on
three areas totalling approximately 350,000 acres. Such agreements
are usually made by assigning wildlife officers (salary and expenses
approximately $4,000.00 per man per year) to the property at a
rate of one man per 20 to 50 thousand acres and furnishing fencing
and fence maintenance proportionate to the amount and quality
of the acreage involved.

Outright monetary lease of hunting rights is inadvisable because
the Commission cannot hope to compete with wealthy individuals
on a purely financial basis. Also such a lease payment on one tract
of land would more or less morally obligate the Commission to
the impossible financial burden of paying similar lease fees on the
vast areas of private lands now open but rapidly being closed to
public hunting.
Land purchases for public hunting under existing high costs of
land are usually impractical except in a few cases where sub-
marginal lands of value principally for wildlife can be acquired
at low cost.
Lands now available to the commission for public hunting use
through -agreement or ownership occur in Santa Rosa, Walton,
Okaloos'a, Bay, Gulf, Calhoun, Liberty, Wakulla, Leon, Baker,
Columbia, Taylor, Dixie, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Citrus, Hernando,
Pasco, Sumter, Charlotte, Palm Beach, Marion, Highlands, Polk,
Manatee, and Sarasota Counties.








SUMMARY OF GAME MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITIES BY SPECIES
Quail
There are three primary clear cut factors that have been oper-
ating to reduce quail in Florida in recent years. These are: (1)
Increased mechanized "clean" farming. The first farming operations
in Florida with their small fields, rail fences, and general crops
resulted in the production of ideal quail habitat. With the advent
of mechanized equipment fields were enlarged, fence rows cleaned
out, and large acreages planted to one cash crop such as cotton,
and quail decreased. (2) The growing of dense stands of unburned
slash pine for pulpwood in north and west Florida. The paper
mills in Florida have caused a demand for enormous quantities of
young pine for pulpwood. This has resulted in the growth, largely
through fire protection, of dense stands of slash pine and a heavy
understory of wiregrass and other vegetation that combine to
produce very poor quail habitat. (3) The disking of tremendous
acreages of formerly good quail territory in south Florida for
improved pasture. Here the removal of palmetto cover has resulted
in complete elimination of quail from such areas. Quail must have
cover to survive.
Unfortunately for quail, these practices are all of great impor-
tance to the economy of the state and cannot therefore be sacri-
Wildlife officers trapped and relocated to public hunting areas 16,000 of
Florida's number one game bird.













r 7.... f ...





18









ficed for the welfare of quail. On the other hand, there are minor
modifications of all three practices that can result in substantial
benefits to quail if sufficient inducement can be found to influence
the landowner to apply the remedial measures.
The importance of overhunting of quail has been greatly over-
emphasized. Because of the distribution of areas such as dense
woodlands, swamps, or citrus groves where the birds are com-
paratively safe from the hunter, and the fact that quail hunting
becomes no longer worthwhile long before all breeding stock is
eliminated from a large area, quail have rarely been reduced to
such an extent that they cannot build up to the carrying capacity
of the land within two normal years. The problem of quail man-
agement in the state is clearly, then, one of increasing the carrying
capacity of the land through habitat improvement.
On the other hand, it may be that in certain areas, such as the
open flatwoods of south Florida where birds are particularly vul-
nerable to overshooting, quail are reduced every year below the
normal breeding population of the area. Under such conditions
careful restocking with wild quail is believed to be worthwhile.
Following this thought a state wide quail trapping program was
organized and put into effect in the spring of 1949. Under this pro-
gram 7,500 birds were trapped in 1949 and 8,500 in 1950. These
birds were trapped by wildlife officers and interested private indi-
viduals and as a general rule were released on territory open to
public hunting. In a few cases private individuals trapped birds
from their own land to be released at other places on their own
land. Such trapping was done at the expense of the individual and
under the direct supervision of a wildlife officer.
Birds released on public hunting lands were trapped from breed-
ing grounds, urban areas and similar tracts where they cannot be
shot and were presumably "going to waste." The trapping program
is being directed by a trained biologist. All birds are banded and
careful records are kept of the success of the project to determine
if the results justify the expenditure of funds in trapping and
moving quail.
In addition to the quail restocking efforts three Pittman-Robertson
projects dealing specifically with quail were carried out or were
started during the past two years. These projects are discussed in
the portion of this report dealing with Pittman-Robertson activities.








Deer
The situation with regard to deer is entirely different from that
outlined for quail. Whereas the primary factor that can increase
quail in Florida is habitat improvement, the primary deer manage-
ment need is protection against overhunting. There is a tremendous
amount of satisfactory deer habitat in Florida that is now under-
populated. On such areas deer can be increased tremendously,
simply by protection against overhunting and judicious restocking.
One important illegal hunting practice that has helped decimate
the Florida deer population has been that of "jacklighting" deer
at night. In using this method the hunter blinds the deer with a
bright light and is able to approach within easy gunshot range.
A ruling by the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission making
illegal the possession of a light and a gun at night for the obvious
purpose of molesting game has gone a long way toward stamping
out this completely unsportsmanlike practice.
The deer population in Florida has shown a definite increase in
the past few years due to three major factors: (1) Better enforce-
ment of game laws; (2) The posting of large tracts of land by
cattlemen and other private interests. (3) The general movement
of homesteaders from rural areas, particularly in the ranching
areas of south Florida.
The Florida deer population suffered a tremendous blow during
the deer slaughtering tick eradication campaign of 1939 to 1944.
During this period an official total of 9,478 deer were slaughtered
in Orange, Osceola, Glades, Highlands, Hendry and Collier Coun-
ties. Since 1942 Florida has made extensive efforts to replace these
deer.

During the past two years 639 Wisconsin deer and 144 Texas
deer were purchased and released in the state for restocking pur-
poses. All of the Texas deer and 482 of the Wisconsin deer were
purchased with game commission funds. The remaining 157 deer
were purchased by the Livestock Sanitary Board in line with its
obligation to replace the deer slaughtered during the tick eradi-
cation campaign. Since 1948 all deer released in the state have been
ear tagged with metal tags as an aid to tracing the survival in
Florida of imported deer.
No attempt is made to divide deer equally among different
counties. The Commission favors the much more effective policy








of placing deer in counties with good deer habitat and low popula-
tion rather than one of arbitrarily dividing the animals available.
Particular emphasis in the deer restocking program is placed on
large blocks of good deer habitat such as the Hardee, Manatee,
Sarasota county area that had been closed to the taking of deer.
During the past two years, five Pittman-Robertson projects devoted
either to deer or to deer and turkey have been active in Florida.

Turkey
As with deer, the immediate problems of turkey management
in Florida are protection from man and the restocking of key
areas. The Florida deer and turkey survey that was completed in
1948 indicates that Florida has more turkey and probably more
good turkey habitat than any state except Texas. At the same
time it has shown that much of the turkey habitat is under-
populated.
Florida has underway a long range turkey restoration program
under the direction of a trained wildlife specialist. The basis of
this program is the establishment of key turkey restoration and
management areas over the state. Most of the areas discussed
under the land acquisition section have been acquired as a part


During the past two years 224 wild turkeys have been trapped and released
in understocked areas of the state.



U-. :. U








of the deer and turkey restoration program. Where necessary such
areas will be restocked with wild trapped native Florida turkeys.
Arrangements have been made to trap turkeys on land in Glades
County belonging to the Lykes Brothers Corporation and on land
in Polk county belonging to William Candler. During the past two
years a total of 224 turkeys have been trapped for release in under-
stocked areas in the state. As with deer restocking, emphasis is being
placed on releasing turkey in areas of suitable habitat with a low
turkey population rather than in attempting to distribute turkeys
equally over the state.

During the period covered by this report the Commission pur-
chased 525 half wild turkeys which were liberated in several coun-
ties of the Fifth District. The Commission is aware of the fact that
the half wild turkey is a poor substitute for the native wild trapped
bird for restocking purposes, but felt that in the absence of a


The commission purchased, out of state, 783 white tail deer for restocking many
underpopulated areas.









readily available stock of wild birds this action might be justified
In other states extensive studies on the survival of half wild
turkey have been conducted, and it has been found that only
under the most careful protection from overhunting have these
birds been able to survive. Many of the claims of success made
by advocates of the use of domestic turkeys in Florida seem to be
without foundation. It appears that most of the increase in turkeys
on areas restocked with tame birds can be attributed to the re-
maining wild stock that was given an opportunity to increase as a
result of the protection from overhunting that accompanied the
restocking efforts. There is no doubt that semi-domestic turkeys
can be raised under semi-domestic conditions but the end result
is a half wild barnyard fowl that has lost much of its beauty and
sporting value and is unable to cope with heavy hunting pressure.
Four of the five Pittman-Robertson projects mentioned in the
discussion of deer deal also with turkey. As a general rule factors
influencing one species are important to the other.

Waterfowl
Though duck and goose hunting in Florida may not be quite so
important as it is in some of the states to the north, it is still popu-
lar enough to attract some 20,000 to 22,000 hunters per year. This
represents an increase of 100% since 1943-44. During the 1949-50
season, Florida had more waterfowl than any other Atlantic Flyway
state, and in the Southeast ranked behind Louisiana and Arkansas
only in number of hunters and second only to Louisiana in total
kill. All this despite the fact that only a comparatively small per-
centage of the tremendous amount of water and marsh area in
Florida is good waterfowl habitat. The Lake Okeechobee marshes,
Kissimmee River and upper St. Johns river marshes, Merritt's
Island, Indian and Banana Rivers, the west coast marshes from
the Aucilla River south to the Chassahowitzka River, and a few
interior lakes in north Florida are the state's outstanding waterfowl
areas.
Watef'owl hunting in Florida is dependent largely upon the
status of the continental waterfowl population, and as it now
stands, there is little that Florida can do to increase waterfowl
other than supply good wintering areas. This, however, is most
important and deserving of considerable time, attention, and money.
There is a definite need for developed, managed waterfowl areas,
both as refuges and public shooting grounds.









Also, Florida is unique among the states in that it possesses an
excellent game duck, the Florida duck or Florida mallard, that
breeds and remains in the state throughout the year. If a suitable
method for increasing the number of this species can be found,
it offers good possibilities for supplying duck hunting to the Florida
sportsmen.
One Pittman-Robertson project was begun in 1948 to inventory
and classify waterfowl habitats and population within the state. The
habitat investigations have now been largely completed, and have
yielded valuable information on the type, location, and quality of
Florida's waterfowl habitat. From this, specific and definite means
for improving this habitat, enlarging its carrying capacity, and
increasing the state population, have been worked out. Population
inventories and collection of kill data are annual, continuing jobs.
From these data are derived information used in the important
work of setting the yearly hunting regulations. Study of the ecology
and management of the Florida duck is, similarly, a continuing
job which offers the possibility of good returns.
Mourning Dove
As with waterfowl the Mourning Dove is classified as a migratory
bird and comes under the jurisdiction of federal game agencies.
It is most important as a game bird in the corn and peanut farming
areas of the state. Because of the decrease in dove populations in
recent years and because of the annual controversy concerning
dove seasons and the general lack of knowledge of dove movements
and life history, a coordinated study of the mourning dove is
under way in the southeastern states. Florida has participated in
this study since the summer of 1949. During this period a total of
2,897 doves have been banded in the State. In addition a great
deal of information has been gathered relative to dove life history,
local movements within the state, and factors effecting dove abun-
dance. Particularly outstanding among the the results of this study
has been a clarification of the mystery of the source and desti-
nation of the migrating birds that appear in great numbers on
the upper west coast and in the Dade, Broward and Monroe County
area in September and October.
Information resulting from the cooperative study in the south-
eastern states should go a long way toward settling the always con-
troversial questions dealing with the setting of dove seasons and
regulations of dove hunting. The dove study has been conducted
as a part of the Pittman-Robertson program.









Squirrel
Of the two species of squirrel listed as game animals in Florida
the cat or grey squirrel far outclasses the fox squirrel in numbers,
popularity, and quality as a game animal. Fox squirrels are gen-
erally shot incidentally by persons hunting other game.
One squirrel research project was begun in September 1949 and
completed in September 1950. This study was conducted under
a cooperative agreement with the University of Florida and has
resulted in the accumulation of a great amount of information about
the hitherto little known Florida Grey Squirrel. Details of this
study are presented in the discussion of the Gulf Hammock Wild-
life Investigation.

Pheasant
For the past two years the Commission has contributed $500.00
per year to a pheasant propagation project sponsored by the Har-
dee County Sportsman's Association.
The Commission recognizes the very slim possibility of pheas-
ants becoming established as a game bird in Florida but felt that
the project was worth while as an experiment under the particular
conditions presented by Hardee County. The program has been
well and conscientiously conducted and should determine con-
clusively whether or not pheasants are adaptable to Florida con-
ditions. Quite possibly the greatest value of the pheasant propa-
gation program has been its influence in bringing about a con-
servation mindedness in Hardee County responsible to a great
degree for the success of the deer and turkey restoration program
in effect in that county.


THE PITTMAN-ROBERTSON PROGRAM
For the past two years much of the financial load of Florida's
wildlife management program has been carried by the -United
States government under the provisions of the Federal Aid in
Wildlife 'Restoration Act-commonly called the Pittman-Robertson
Act. This Act, approved by Congress in 1937, provided that funds
realized from an excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition be
apportioned to the states for use in wildlife restoration work,
according to their area and their annual sale of hunting licenses.
The state must match each three dollars of federal money received
with one dollar of state money.








This money is to be spent by the state either on research, de-
velopment, land acquisition or maintenance of projects, with a
small percentage of the total fund set aside for administration. All
expenditures must be approved by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the trustees of the Pittman-Robertson fund.
Inasmuch as personnel as well as projects must be approved by
the Fish and Wildlife Service, the bill was designed particularly
to act as a stimulus to state game departments for beginning a
progressive wildlife research and management program under the
direction of scientifically trained men.

The Florida program continues to emphasize land acquisition, and
to delay development activities until a firm foundation, based on
research and sound information, has been laid. In accordance with
this general policy are the relative expenditures for research and
development for the years of 1949-50 and 1950-51, as presented in
Table 1. During 1949-50, 24.7% of the obligated Pittman-Robertson
expenditure was for research and 34.2% was for development;
during 1950-51, 16.8% is obligated to be spent for research and
40.7% for development. The percentage of money spent for land
acquisition will vary from year to year, dependent upon specific
opportunities for land acquisition that may arise from time to time.
Funds for land acquisition can be taken from the Florida reserve
of Pittman-Robertson money.
During the past two years seven trained men and two untrained
men were employed for Pittman-Robertson projects. Three of the
trained men have Masters' degrees and four have Bachelors' degrees
in wildlife management or biology. Two graduate students of the
University of Florida were given research fellowships and em-
ployed on a temporary basis to do research work needed by the
Commission. Both men plan to use their research to satisfy thesis
requirements for the Master of Science degree. Consistent with
the general policy in effect, no new personnel are employed until
there is a definite and easily demonstrated need for them.

Florida's Pittman-Robertson allotment has decreased from the
high of $148,949.46 in 1948 to $140,905.64 in 1949 to $121,214.92 in
1950. This is due to a decrease in receipts from the Federal
excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. Following is a dis-
cussion of those projects active during the two-year period covered
by this report.









Charlotte County Game Management Area
In 1941, purchase of a 62,000 acre tract of land in Charlotte
County was begun. Acquisition activities on this project have
been continued during the past two years. These activities include
purchase of outside holdings, clearing of titles of lands purchased
prior to the present biennium and obtaining Federal reimburse-
ment for state funds spent in the acquisition of Charlotte County
lands. The Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission now owns
most of the land enclosed within the original purchase boundary.
Charlotte County Quail Investigations
The Charlotte County Quail Investigation was designed specifi-
cally to develop methods of increasing quail on the Charlotte
County Area and generally to develop methods compatible with
cattle raising for increasing quail in south Florida's flatwoods.
This study has been continued during the present biennium on
a greatly reduced scale. At present emphasis is being placed on
obtaining data about year to year quail population fluctuations, as
correlated with food and weather conditions. Also, extensive ex-
periments with the artificial feeder system are being carried out.
Charlotte County research has been directed along several major
lines of investigation: food habits of quail; weather, shooting pres-
sure, and other factors influencing the quail population; the sex
and age composition of quail population; the effect of burning,
grazing and disking on vegetation and the quail population; ex-
perimental quail food planting; and use of automatic quail feeders.
To dat4 no plant has been found, with the possible exception of
one or two native species, whose planting as quail food appears to
be a practicable quail management procedure in south Florida
flatwoods. The best method of increasing quail food in Charlotte
County, other than outright feeding, appears to be the stimulation
of native quail foods by the proper use of fire, grazing and disking.
Judicious burning is definitely beneficial to quail and indications
are that winter grazing will also improve quail habitat in flatwoods
areas.
Disking has been shown to greatly increase quail food plants
on ungrazed areas the first year following disking. On areas not
protected from grazing cattle seek out disked places and destroy
most of the quail food plants. The planned management of quail
on the Charlotte County area revolves primarily around winter
grazing, controlled burning, removal of cattle during the quail
food growing season and artificial feeding.









Since the spring and summer of 1948 experiments with artificial
feeding of wild quail have been conducted. In the spring of 1950
these experiments were enlarged to include three areas of ap-
proximately 5,000 acres each in Charlotte, Highlands and Pasco
Counties. Records are being kept of the success of the feeding
methods in increasing quail. Results of the studies to date indicate
that quail can definitely be increased by the use of artificial feeders
but the technique has yet to be perfected to such a degree that
quail can be produced by this method at a cost that the average
hunter can afford to pay.
Since the beginning of the Charlotte County study, analysis
has been made of the crop contents of more than 2,500 quail. Most
of these birds were obtained from hunting lodges in Charlotte
County. In addition, more than 9,000 quail have been examined
for sex and age. Information resulting from the latter study is
extremely useful in evaluating breeding success as correlated with
weather, hunting pressure, and other factors. The results of the
first four years of the Charlotte County Quail Investigation will
be published in 1951.

Charlotte County Quail Project
This project is designed to put in effect management practices
developed through the Charlotte County Quail Investigation.
Primary activities of the project have been control burning, disk-
ing, quail food planting, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and
other installations on the Charlotte County Wildlife Ma'nagement
Area. During the biennium covered by this report, approximately
15 acres were disked and sown to a sod forming grass or quail
food and approximately 10 miles of 24-foot fire lanes were similarly
prepared. A new grazing lease was signed with the Babcock Florida
Company whereby cattle are to be grazed on three of the four
approximately 15,000-acre pastures during only the months of
October through May. An annual rental of 8 cents per acre is paid
on such land. Year round grazing is being permitted on one pas-
ture as a check on the effectiveness of eliminating summer graz-
ing. During the past two years the Babcock Company has con-
structed fences on the area that will be useful to quail manage-
ment as well as cattle operations. This company has also contrib-
uted seed and fertilizer for grass planting on some of the disked
strips. Further plans are being worked out with this company
whereby the company and the Commission will share the expense









of land improvement activities that will benefit both quail and
cattle.
A controlled public quail hunt was conducted on the Charlotte
County area during the 1950-51 hunting season. Permits for the
hunt cost $5.00 per day. After a slow start, due apparently to lack
of information about the hunt in spite of good newspaper and radio
coverage, the hunt proved highly successful. The 312 hunters pur-
chasing permits bagged 2,278 birds which, with 178 known crippled,
amounted approximately to the 2,500 birds slated to be harvested.
All hunters reported satisfaction with the hunt.
The Charlotte County hunt was conducted for two principal
reasons: To permit the hunter to harvest the unusually good crop
of quail produced in 1950 and to determine if the average Florida
hunter is willing to pay a reasonable cost for quail hunting. The
heavy expense necessary for intensive quail management on Com-
mission lands is justifiable only if the comparatively few hunters
benefiting from such activities bear a large portion of their cost.
Coordination Project
The Coordination Project is designed to serve as a medium for
liaison between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Game
and Fresh Water Fish Commission and to furnish immediate super-
vision of Pittman-Robertson projects. One particular responsibility
of the coordinator is the preparation of plans and reports for all
projects.
Florida Deer and Turkey Survey
Florida with its 22,000,000 acres of forest lands, large uninhabited
areas, and mild climate, offers unusual opportunities for production
of deer and turkey. It is doubtful that any other southern state
has the amount of deer and turkey habitat that is found in Florida.
This is due, to a large extent, to the generally good distribution of
different types of cover over the state. Almost every area of pine
flatwoods is broken up by cypress ponds, cabbage and oak ham-
mocks, or heavily forested stream bottoms. Almost every area of
rolling sqnd hills is broken by lakes surrounded with cypress,
bayheads, or oak hammocks. Many of the prairie lands of south
central Florida have occasional cabbage palm or oak hammocks.
In the cypress swamps of the Everglades there are ridges of slight
elevation where grow pines, palmetto, oaks, and tropical broad-
leaved trees. Even some of the sawgrass marshlands of extreme
south Florida are dotted with frequent islands of bay, myrtle, holly
and fern that offer some haven for deer.








The state-wide deer and turkey survey, completed in 1948, re-
vealed an estimated deer population of 32,466 in 63 counties. Only
four counties did not have deer. There are 10 counties with a
population of 1,000 or more; 13 counties with from 500 to 999; 7
counties with from 250 to 499; 16 counties have from 100 to 249;
and 17 counties have from 1 to 99. There are no forest areas of
100,000 acres or more that do not have a remnant of a deer herd.
The counties without deer are devoted to agriculture and are
divided into small rural ownerships.
The turkey population in the spring of 1948 was estimated to
be 26,854. There were 7 counties with a population of 1,000 or
more; 9 counties with 500 to 999; 16 counties with 250 to 499; 12
counties with 100 to 249; 18 counties with 1 to 99; and 5 without
a population.
The deer and turkey range has been divided into two classifi-
cations-"good" and "habitable". "Good" habitat is that type of
range that will support a desirable population for the entire year.
"Habitable" habitat is that type of range that maintains only a

Cators, too, will be able to stage a comeback. Closed season now protects them.









very small population throughout all season. In this classification
will fall areas that support a desirable amount of game for only
short periods of time and then, due to a decrease in food or cover,
or both, this population is forced to move elsewhere.
Florida has 14,209,000 acres of good deer range and 9,436,200
acres designated as habitable; 14,309,000 acres of good turkey
habitat and 8,727,400 acres designated as habitable. Very little of
the total forest game habitat in the state is desirable for only one
of the two species.
The results of the Florida deer and turkey survey were pub-
lished in 1950 in Technical Bulletin No. 1. This survey is being
used as a basis for the statewide deer and turkey restoration
program.
Farm Game Habitat Restoration
This project was begun in June 1947. Its specific objective is the
improvement of agricultural land for quail, primarily through the
planting of field borders to quail foods and the encouragement of
the use of such plants as Florida beggarweed for cover crops and
soil builders. During the 1949-50 biennium the following wildlife
planting materials were provided free of cost to landowners in
north Florida who were interested in farm game habitat improve-
ments: bicolor lespedeza-748,000 seedlings, thunbergii lespedeza
-234,000 seedlings, common lespedza-1,878 pounds of seed, Flor-
ida beggarweed-700 pounds of seed, partridge pea-123 pounds
of seed, multiflora rose-31,000 seedlings. Most of this material was
distributed through a cooperative arrangement with the United
States Soil Conservation Service. Success from plantings of these
species was in proportion to the care and attention they received
from the landowner.
The bush lespedezas, bicolor and thunbergii, are well adapted
for food plantings on the better soils of north Florida provided
they are planted, fertilized and maintained properly. Thunbergii
appears to be much more adaptable and plans are to abandon the
use of bicolor in favor of thunbergii as soon as sufficient supplies
of thunbergii are available.
In the' spring of 1949, a 5,500-acre quail management area was
established in Jackson County for the purpose of determining
the value of bicolor in increasing quail on a large tract of average
farm land. One-hundred-seven bicolor plantings were made on this
area in 1949. Many failed due to drought and had to be planted
again in 1950. The 1950 plantings were generally successful.








The use of multiflora rose for fencing and game cover purposes
is relatively new to Florida-the first planting having been made
in the spring of 1949. Although its adaptability to Florida conditions
is still uncertain, it appears to be suitable for fencing purposes on
the better soils of north Florida if planted properly and fertilized
heavily. After from four to six years this plant forms a dense tangle
of thorny vegetation forming excellent wildlife cover and serving
as an impenetrable stock fence that needs no repair or upkeep.
It is very successful in northern states and is much in demand by
farmers.
Through the cooperation of the Florida Agricultural Experiment
Station and the Florida Forest Service the Commission is now
able to produce much of its planting stock in Florida at a much
lower rate than that for which such materials are obtainable from
other states or private sources.

Palm Beach County Land Acquisition
In 1947 the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission acquired an
option to purchase approximately 50,000 acres of land in Palm
Beach County at $5.00 per acre. The purchase of this land was to
be extended over a period of five years. During the biennium
covered by this report 20,479 acres of this area were acquired with
Pittman-Robertson funds. The total area to which the Commission
now holds title is 45,353 acres, leaving 7,780 acres to be purchased
next year.

Gulf Hammock Deer and Turkey Survey
This project was begun in February, 1948, and was completed
in February, 1949. The results of the survey are being prepared for
publication. Information from this study forms the basis for the
present Gulf Hammock wildlife management program.

Palm Beach County Fencing
Between June, 1948 and March, 1949, a four-strand barbed wire
fence was constructed around the Palm Beach County Wildlife
Management Area, the total cost for constructing the 32.8 miles of
fence was $11,492.09. The cost includes constructing, painting, and
hanging nine board gates. Bids for the construction of the fence were
solicited and the contract was awarded to Mr. D. W. Rowell of
Indiantown. Mr. Rowell's work was highly satisfactory and re-
sulted in the construction of an excellent fence.









Florida Waterfowl Survey
This project is designed as an investigation of waterfowl habitats
and populations throughout the state. Information resulting from
it will serve as a background for a constructive waterfowl manage-
ment program. Among its particular aims are the development of
techniques for waterfowl habitat improvement and investigation
of possible methods for increasing the population of the Florida
duck.
The bulk of the work has been concerned with waterfowl habi-
tat investigations, with particular emphasis on food plant dis-
tribution and abundance. In these investigations, which have been
conducted on over 200 different areas, water quality tests are made,
the type of substratum, physical characters of the shore, and amount
of water level fluctuation are noted. Submerged and emergent veg-
etation is recorded as to species, relative abundance and, where
possible, limiting factors. The knowledge of plant succession,
growth requirements, and limiting factors to be derived from the
accumulation of such data is necessary to any sound waterfowl
management program. This is especially true in the south, where
waterfowl management is very largely habitat management, i.e.
water and plant manipulation. As a result of this work, more is
now known of Florida's waterfowl habitats than ever before.
Sound management techniques have been developed, and the
water quality tolerances and preferences of 63 common aquatic
plants have been determined. This latter represents pioneer work
of its type in the southeast.
Throughout the work so far, it has been apparent that over the
state as a whole good food plants are not abundant. This seems to
be the most widespread factor limiting the value of the various
waterfowl areas. On the other hand, there are several large areas
in the state which are quite good. In them the number of winter-
ing waterfowl will be dependent on the continental population as
well as on local conditions. Unfortunately, the general trend has
been toward diminishing waterfowl habitat. Certain developments
for agriculture, pasture, navigation, and flood control programs
have been, or promise to be, extremely detrimental to waterfowl.
For example, if certain proposed navigation projects in the vicinity
of Merritt's Island are carried out, that area, which now carries
at times better than a quarter million birds, will be so reduced in
value within eight to ten years as to be of negligible importance
to waterfowl. Similarly, plans for the development of the St. Johns








and Kissimmee valleys could result in a marked decrease in water-
fowl values. On the other hand, plans for the construction of im-
poundment areas in the Everglades should noticeably improve
the waterfowl habitat there.
Because of the general decrease in waterfowl habitat, it becomes
more and more important that the Commission should control,
develop and manage some good waterfowl areas. Special attention
has been devoted to locating suitable areas, and management plans
for several have been drawn up. Techniques for development and
maintenance of good habitat conditions on refuges and public
shooting areas have been worked out.
In addition to the work on habitats, considerable time has been
spent on population and kill data investigations. Monthly inven-
tories, flown over important sample areas, yielded valuable in-
formation on population fluctuations, trends and movements. Col-
lection of kill data gave information on species composition, aver-
age daily bag, total kill, and crippling loss. All this information is
vitally important in formulating hunting regulations. It shows
too, that waterfowl hunting in Florida compares very favorably
with that of any state in the southeast. For the 1949-50 season,
the average daily bag of ducks was 2.65 birds, or 3.06 if cripples
are included. The average daily bag of coots was 2.14 birds, and of
geese 0.07 birds. The average season bag was 16.7 ducks and 13.5
coots, with the average hunter being afield 6.3 times. Ring-necked
duck made up 27.8'/, of the kill, pintails 15.7% and scaup 11.7'/%.
The remaining 44.8',;, was composed of 14 species, with teal, wid-
geon, mallard and Florida duck being the more important. Few
states can show more successful hunting than this.
The monthly inventories have shown that waterfowl popula-
tions wintering in Florida have held up quite well in contrast to
the downward continental trend of the last two years. They have
also demonstrated that the hunting season generally coincides
with the period of greatest waterfowl abundance.
The status of the state's two resident species, the wood duck
and the Florida duck, has been quite good during the past two
years. Airplane inventories have revealed that the Florida duck,
though smaller in total number than was hoped, has had a grati-
fying increase each year since 1948. From a total of 18,000 to
20,000 birds at that time, the population has risen to between
25,000 and 27,000 birds in the early fall of 1950. Maintenance of
proper and sufficient habitat is essential if this bird is to remain









an important game species. Within its range this bird is heavily
hunted and yields a harvest out of proportion to its total number.
Future activities of this project will consist of a continuance of
the population, kill data, and Florida duck studies. In addition,
more attention than heretofore will be devoted to the location,
development, and management of waterfowl areas both as refuges
and public shooting grounds.
Gulf Hammock Fencing Project
Between August, 1948, and December, 1949, sixty and one-half
miles of four-strand barbed wire fence was constructed around the
boundaries of the Gulf Hammock Wildlife Management Area. The
total cost, including materials, of this fence was $31,987.21, or
$528.71 per mile.
Before beginning construction of the fence, bids were solicited
and resulted in bids of $1,1552.00, $960.00, $591.00, $300.00, and
$268.80 per mile, not including the cost of materials ($243.35 per
mile). None of the bids was acceptable and a decision was made
to construct the fence by force account. The man employed to su-
pervise the work proved completely unsatisfactory, so bids again
were solicited and resulted in bids of $550.00 and $460.00 per mile,
and the proposition made by the Panama City Construction Com-
pany to build an experimental five miles of fence for the cost of
construction plus 10%. It was felt that the resulting figure would
be of value to the Commission in considering possible bids and
ir. determining the actual cost of fencing in Gulf Hammock.
The cost of constructing this five miles of fence averaged $509.14
per mile. With this figure in mind and in consideration of indi-
cations of inefficient utilization of labor, believed due to the fact
that the construction company was not financially bound to do
good work, a new agreement was worked out with the Panama
City Construction Company to construct an additional 11 miles
of fence with a guarantee that the construction of the fence would
not cost more than $400.00 per mile. Under the terms of this agree-
ment the construction company was paid $100.00 per mile to
supervise the construction of the fence. This supervision included
the employment and management of labor, and the establishment by
survey of the property line on which the fence was to be con-
structed. Upon completion of this 11 miles, another agreement cov-
ering the remainder of the fence originally planned was signed
by the Panama City Construction Company, reducing the super-
vision cost from $100.00 to $90.00 per mile.








All negotiation finally resulted in the construction of the 531/2
miles of fence built by the Panama City Construction Company
at a total cost of construction of $16,473.50, or $307.91 per mile.
This represents a saving of $152.09 per mile under the lowest pos-
sibly acceptable bid of $460.00, and resulted in the construction
of a good fence.
Following the completion of this fence, an agreement was worked
out with several small landowners whereby an additional 3,000
acres was included in the fenced management area. The 7 miles
of fence bounding this property was constructed by the landowners
with material furnished by the Commission.
The fencing picture in Gulf Hammock was complicated by the
fact that, apparently, no one was able to judge satisfactorily the
cost of fencing under the unusual conditions peculiar to the area.
This conclusion is supported by the tremendous variation in bids
submitted by contractors presumably familiar with fence construc-
tion. The principal obstacles to fencing in the Hammock are the
almost impenetrable mud swamps and the rocky nature of the
terrain. Limestone is so near the surface in much of the Ham-
mock that post holes must be dug with pneumatic drills, dynamite,
or other special tools.

Florida Deer and Turkey Restoration
Under this project is the greater part of the state's deer and
turkey restoration program, including acquisition of land for deer
and turkey management and trapping and restocking of these
species. Most of the lands acquired during the past two years for
public hunting have been acquired as a part of the activities of
the project.
Particularly outstanding has been the excellent success expe-
rienced with turkey restocking in Hardee County-the only re-
stocking area for which detailed accurate information is as yet
available. Thirty turkey hens and nine gobblers trapped from the
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area were released in
Hardee County in the fall of 1949. By the fall of 1950 the original
stock had increased to more than 130 birds.
Outstanding among the land acquisition activities of this project
during the past biennium has been the acquisition of public hunt-
ing rights on approximately 160,000 acres in Lafayette, Dixie and
Taylor Counties belonging to P. C. Crapps & Sons and Consolidated









Naval Stores. This area was open to controlled public hunting in
the fall of 1950.
Other important land activities include the acquisition of game
management rights on the approximately 107,000-acre Avon Park
Bombing Range; acquisition of hunting rights on 8,000 acres in
Highlands County, acquisition of hunting rights on a 75,000-acre
area in Gulf, Bay and Calhoun Counties belonging to the St. Joe
and International Paper Companies under agreements for co-
operative wildlife management; and cooperative wildlife agree-
ments involving deer and turkey restocking with owners of ap-
proximately 300,000 acres in Hardee, Manatee and Sarasota Coun-
ties. The project leader and other Pittman-Robertson personnel
worked closely with Commissioners and local Wildlife officers
throughout negotiations leading to successful completion of land
agreements. Much of the success of the land acquisition program has
been due to the excellent cooperation and able assistance of wild-
life officers.

Mourning Dove Study
This project is designed to gather information about the mourn-
ing dove that will lead to a better dove management program and
a more equitable division of dove hunting seasons. One qualified
biologist is employed for the dove investigations. His duties in-
clude employment of trappers for the approximately 20 banding
stations maintained over the state, trapping and banding doves
at concentration points of importance, developing, putting into
effect and supervising a dove census conducted by wildlife officers,
rural mail carriers, and game management personnel, and gen-
eral coordination of all dove investigational activities.
As a rule the banding stations are operated by school boys
recommended by the wildlife officers in the counties in which the
stations are located. The boys are generally paid $20.00 per month
to trap -and band doves coming to the station. Wildlife officers
accidentally trapping doves in the quail trapping program also
assist in the dove banding program.
When the Southeastern Dove Study is completed the findings will
be submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as a
guide for regulating dove hunting and for supplying more of this im-
portant game bird for the hunter.








Palm Beach County Game Investigation
The Palm Beach County Game Investigation was begun in the
summer of 1949. It is designed to furnish information that will lead
to higher production of game on the 53,000-acre Palm Beach County
Wildlife Management Area. Among the specific objectives of this
project are the preparation of a cover map of the entire area,
studies of the effect of burning, grazing and weather on game
populations, evaluation of the area as deer, turkey and quail habi-
tat and, most important, the development of methods of improving
the area for these three game species. The leader of this project
is also assistant leader of the deer and turkey restoration project
and spends approximately half of his time on turkey trapping and
restoration activities in south Florida.

Farm Quail Food Investigation
This study was conducted between October 1949 and December
1950 at the University Conservation Reserve at Welaka, under a
cooperative agreement between the Commission and the University
of Florida. A portion of the expense is borne by each agency. The
specific purpose of this study is to determine the palatability and
nutritional value to quail of seed produced by plants useful to the
farmer for erosion -control, cover crops, soil builders, pasture, and
so forth. Information that has resulted from this study will be of
tremendous practical value to the Commission in advising farmers
and other land owners interested in improving conditions for quail.

Gulf Hammock Wildlife Investigation
This project was begun in October, 1949, and was designed to
serve as a vehicle for financing a long term investigation project
accompanying wildlife management developments on the Gulf
Hammock Wildlife Management Area. Among its duties are in-
cluded the determination of the abundance of deer and turkey
on the area, making recommendations for hunting or control of
hunting of these species, investigating annual game food condi-
tions, and keeping records of annual game kill and hunter re-
action. Since this project was begun, excellent information has
been obtained relative to these subjects.
One very important phase of the research conducted on this
project to date was the investigation of the grey squirrel. This
study was conducted by a graduate student of the University of









Florida, under a cooperative agreement between the Commission
and the University, and was continued for one year. During the
one year of this squirrel study it appears quite likely that more
useable management data relative to the grey squirrel has been
accumulated than ever before. Of particular importance is an
excellent diagnosis of the reasons for the apparent migration of
squirrels just prior to the 1949-1950 hunting season, and their re-
appearance shortly after the first of January. Apparently, there was
no disappearance of squirrels at all. They were present throughout
the hunting season, but, due to the shortage of acorns and other
mast, were not active in food gathering activities, and were thus not
observed or killed by the hunters. Squirrel hunting success is as
directly correlated with abundance of acorns as it is with abun-
dance of squirrels.
Gulf Hammock Widllife Development
Among the activities on this project are fence, road, and bridge
maintenance and construction, and the preparation of turkey food
plots. This project was begun in October of 1949. Sites have been
selected for 15 of the 20 proposed turkey food clearings; eight of
the food plots have been cleared with a bulldozer, fenced and
planted; most of the 60 miles of fence damaged by the hurricane
of September, 1950, has been repaired; more than 50 miles of the
road has been cleared of fallen trees that resulted from the hurri-
cane; and all of the developments and installations of the Gulf
Hammock Wildlife Management Area have been maintained in good
order.
One trained wildlife biologist is employed as leader of this project.
He is assisted by one Forestry graduate from the University of
Florida, and one untrained local man. All project personnel are
available for assistance with law enforcement work, under an
arrangement whereby time spent on law enforcement work is
made up by other wildlife officers assisting with development work.
This arrangement is necessary because of the fact that, under the
terms of the Pittman-Robertson Act, funds allocated to states cannot
be used Tor law enforcement.
The operation of this project and the annual Gulf Hammock
hunt proceeded in a very satisfactory manner in spite of con-
siderable antagonism in the beginning from minor elements of the
population of Levy County, and indications are that sadly depleted
deer and turkey populations again can be restored to their former
abundance.








Eglin Field Deer Investigation
The Eglin Field Deer Investigation is designed principally to
determine the status of the Eglin Field deer herd in relation to
the carrying capacity of the range and to supply recommendations
for the most satisfactory management of the herd. An important
aspect of the study will be investigations of the effect on deer
of the screw worm.
It appears highly possible that the immediate and future con-
dition of the deer herd, particularly on bombing ranges or similar
danger areas where hunting cannot be permitted, would be greatly
improved if a portion of the deer were removed-perhaps by
trapping for restocking other areas in the state. With this thought
in mind permission has been granted by the Air Force authori-
ties for the Commission to trap 150 deer in 1951 for restocking
purposes.
Work was begun on this project on July 1, 1950. The project
leader spends half his time on deer research and half his time on
deer trapping as assistant leader of the deer and turkey restora-
tion project.

Collier County Land Acquisition
Approximately 300,000 acres in northeastern Collier County are
being considered for purchase by the Game and Fresh Water
Fish Commission for development as a wildlife management area,
provided that satisfactory arrangements for the purchase of these
lands can be worked out with the landowners. If this area is
purchased, it will be maintained in its present state as a wilderness
hunting area.
Proposed management plans for the area revolve around more
adequate protection of existing game stocks, so that the presently
reduced deer, turkey, bear, and alligator populations can be re-
stored to their former abundance.

Guano River Land Acquisition
A tract of approximately 5,000 acres in St. Johns County, in-
cluding approximately 1,400 acres of salt water marsh, is being
considered for purchase as a public duck hunting area. Negotia-
tions are under way with the owners of this land for its purchase
or lease. If this area is acquired, a dike will be constructed across
the marsh and water control structures will be built which will
permit fresh water to be retained on the marsh and will, conse-









quently, greatly improve the marsh as waterfowl habitat. A por-
tion of this area will be set aside as a public hunting ground, and
a portion as a waterfowl refuge.
Steinhatchee Wildlife Management Area
Fencing and Development
This project was begun in November, 1950. Among its principal
activities are the construction of 331/2 miles of fence on the Stein-
hatchee Wildlife Management Area, the construction of four check-
ing station buildings for conducting the Steinhatchee Hunt, the
maintenance of an additional 66 miles of existing fence, and con-
ducting game habitat improvement activities.
One trained wildlife manager and one untrained local man are
employed on this project. Besides their actual development activi-
ties, they are responsible for information relative to game popu-
lations, annual game kill, and for recommendations for conducting
the annual hunt. As with the Gulf Hammock project these men are
available for law enforcement work.
Florida Wildlife and Game Kill Inventory
There is an acute need in modern wildlife management for ac-
curate information concerning game populations and hunter ac-
tivities. Information available at the present time in the State of
Florida is meager, and, at best, unreliable. The present study is
designed to determine the method or methods of inventory most
applicable to the state, and to set up a permanent system of annual
inventory of game populations, game kill, hunter sentiment re-
garding controversial issues, and hunter activities. Preliminary
work on this project was begun in November 1950.

able 1. PLANNED EXPENDITURE OF FEDERAL AID FUNDS
During the Fiscal Years of 1948-49, 1949-50, and 1950-51

1948-491 1949-50 1950-51
Amount Per Cent Amount Per Cent Amount Per Cer

oordination.......... $ 6.380.00 3.6 $ 12,196.50 7.6 $ 13,798.40 6.4
irveys and Investigations 19.182.70 10.9 39,466.39 24.7 36,393.02 16.8
evelopment2......... ... 69.957.43 39.9 54,592.39 34.2 87,808.50 40.7
and Acquisition......... 79,994.96 45.6 53,572.90 33.5 78,000.00 36.1
Total....... $ 175,515.09 $ 159,828.18 $ 215,999.92

The figures for 1'48-49 and 1949-50 are approved project totals and very nearly approach th
tual expenditures. The figures for 1950-51 are approved project totals plus estimated costs of ne'
*ojects contemplated.
2 $43,452.20 of 1948-49 Development Fund was for fence construction on lands purchased or leased.







FISH MANAGEMENT DIVISION


JOHN F. DEQUINE, Chief
C. E. HALL, JR., Assistant Chief


FISH MANAGEMENT AREAS


AREA A
Counties: Bay, Cal-
houn,Escambia,Frank-
lin, Gadsden, Gulf,
Holmes, Jackson, Jef-
ferson, Leon, Liberty,
Okaloosa, Santa Rosa,
Wakulla, W1alton,
Washington
Supervisor: F. G.
Banks, Wewnhitchka
Projects:
Area Fish Manage-
ment Assistance
Wewahitchka Fish
Management Station
Sam L. Britt, Supt.
Blackwater Fish Man-
agement Station
Sam L. Britt, Supt.
Willie Carr,Custodiant


AREA B
Counties: Alachua,
Baker, Bradford, Cit-
lus, Dixie, Gilchrist,
Hamilton, Lafayette,
Levy, Madison, Ma-
rion (half), Sumter,
Suwannee, Taylor,
Union
Supervisor: No su-
pervisor at present
Projects:
Area Fish Management
Assistance for coun-
ties \V. of Suwannee
River temporarily
provided by Area A
Supervisor; for coun-
ties E. of Siwannee
River by Area C Su-
pervisor


AREA C
Counties: Clay, Du-
val, Flagler, Lake, Ma-
rion (half), Nassau,
Orange, Putnam, St.
Johns, Seminole, Vo-
lusia
Supervisor: Barry 0.
Freeman, Welaka
Technicians:
Melvin T. Huish
Delbert L. Taber
George Horel
Projects:
Area Fish Manage-
ment Assistance
St. Johns River Fish
Management Station
Rough Fish Control


AREA D
Counties: Brevard,
Charlotte, De Soto,
Hardee, HIernando,
Hillsborough, Mana-
tee, Osceola, Pasco,
Pinellas, Polk, Sara-
sota.
Supervisor: E. T.
Heinen, Lakeland.
Technicians: Harold
L. Moody; William
Ray Holley.
Projects:
Area Fish Management
Assistance
Rough Fish Control
Units
Winter Haven Fish
Management Station
R. G. Garrett, Supt.
J. T. Cauley, Truck
Driver
Francis Weston, La-
borer


AREA E
Counties: Broward,
Collier, Dade, Glades,
Henry, Highlands,
Indian River, Lee, Mar-
tin, Monroe, Okeecho-
bee, Palm Beach, St.
Lucie
Supervisor: Don R.
Luethy, Okeechobee
Technicians:
William R. McLane
Harry M. Frish
Projects:
Area Fish Management
Assistance
Okeechobee Fish Man-
agement Station
Rough Fish Control








FISH
MANAGEMENT
DIVISION


JOHN F. DEQUINE
Chief Fisheries Biologist
CHARLES HALL
Assistant Chief Fisheries Biologist












FISH MANAGEMENT




JOHN F. DEQUINE



THE Fish Management Division is charged with the responsi-
bility of carrying out the Commission's policies pertaining to the
management of fish and fisheries and other resources of Florida's
fresh waters. Its objectives are two-fold: (1) to find and apply
practical methods of improving the sport fisherman's catch, with
particular emphasis on the black bass, and (2) to find methods of
utilizing Florida's fresh water resources on a sustained yield basis
for the maximum benefit of all of the State. Both of these aims are
long-range in scope and will require many years of technical effort
and a broad program of public education before they can be
realized.
In the face of Florida's expanding resident and tourist popula-
tion, and the increase in the interest in fishing for recreation,
fishery stocks over the last few years have been under greater
angling pressure than ever before. While Florida's fresh water
fishing is excellent compared to that found elsewhere, and no
permanent damage to fish population is anticipated from recrea-
tional fishing, the harvestable surplus of easily caught fish must
not only be maintained but increased. The increased interest in
fishing for pleasure has been emphasized by the recent jump in
the number of fishing camps established and other services provided
for the angler. It now comprises a sizeable industry directly or
indirectly affecting the livelihoods of thousands of citizens. Surveys
by interested organizations have placed the value of business gen-
erated by Florida's fresh water sport fishing at from 100 to 250
million dollars per year. Those charged with the administration of
an industry of this scope cannot afford to sit back and take a
laissez-faire attitude, but must supply considerable thought and
effort to increasing production. Fortunately, Florida's Commission









is cognizant of this fact and supports an aggressive program com-
bining research, experimentation and practical management of its
fisheries, based on the same principles which have resulted in in-
creased yields of agricultural and forest products in recent years.
In general, the activities of the Fish Management Division are
separated into four categories:
1. Technical assistance on fish management problems to indi-
viduals, groups and organizations.
2. Fish culture and distribution.
3. Rough fish control and fish population surveys.
4. Specific experimental projects and fisheries surveys.
Superimposed upon these activities is the program of educating
the interested public in fish conservation and management, which
is accomplished through public appearances by trained and expe-
rienced fishery technicians, educational articles in popular publi-
cations, and entertainment of interested groups in areas in which
work is being conducted.
As 7.7 percent of the Commission revenue was expended during
the biennium on this entire fish management program, results and
data obtained are presented in considerable detail in this report.

Technical Fish Management Assistance
The recently initiated program providing technical assistance
and advice on fish management problems is carried out under a
program whereby the entire state is divided into five Fish Man-
agement Areas, each of which is in the charge of an experienced
fisheries biologist, having the title of Fish Management Area Su-
pervisor who has direct charge of all Fish Management activities
in his area. Members of the technical staff are well-trained and
experienced, and all of them enjoy good standing in such pro-
fessional societies as the American Fisheries Society, the American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the North American
Wildlife Society, the Florida Academy of Sciences and others. Scien-
tific reports have been published in national journals on Florida's
fresh water fisheries, and a number of other reports have been
written for the Commission's use. A complete listing of these re-
ports is found at the end of this section. The establishment of a
technical fisheries library at the Tallahassee office enables fishery
workers to keep up with developments in other areas of the
country and of the world.











Table 1.

DISTRIBUTION OF FINGERLING FISH BY COUNTY


49


19 5 0


Alachua ................
B aker................... .
B ay............. ....
Bradford....... .....
Brevard........ .....
Broward ...............
Calhoun...............
C harlotte ...............
C itrus........... ......
C lay........ ... ... ...
C ollier. ................
Colum biia ................
D ade ..................
D e Soto ................
Dixie..................
D uval..................
Escam bia ...............
F lagler.................
F franklin ...............
G adsden ...............
G ilchlirist ...............
G lades .................
G u lf ...................
H am ilton...............
H ardee................
Hendry... ........... .
H ernando ...............
H highlands ...............
ILillsboroughl.............
Hlolmes ...............
Indian River..............
Jackson ......... ..
Jefferson ................
Lafayette ......... ..... .
Lake ...................
Lee ....................
L eon ............. .....
L evy ........... .. .....
Liberty ...... .. ..
M adison ........... .. .
Manatee ...............
M arion ................ .
Martin .................
Monroe...............
N assau .................. .
Okaloosa . . . . . . . .
Okeechobee.. . . . . .. .
O range.................
Osceola................
Palm Heach............
Pasco ..................
P inellas ............... .
P olk ........... .........


1 9

lBass

13,000

1,500
........ ..




36,000
14,000

5,000



18,500
2,000

1,500

l,50
. . . . .. .



......... .


22,000
42,850

3,000
1,544

74,260

1,710

1,500

17,000
11,700
1,000
...........i
1,000

42,500
10,500
7,000
9,840
...75.. 56
75,450


19,000



14,850

14,000
4.000


28,150

9,000
19,500


263,.500
............




1,600
34,000

34,450
18,000

............

23,000
. . . .


..... .....




28,375






25,000


Bass Bream


28,000

24,000

4,000

62,060
7.000


. . . . . . l . . . . . .
................ ........
. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.......... ............
........ ... 5 ,1550


5,250

2,000
1.250






" 12,000

30,000
450




34,500

6,050"
10,000



15,000


9,400
3,900

42,000


5,100
106
67,700


134,500



57,500









92,650

....31,000
59,500


205,998






73,000

66,500
60,000
18,000


55,500

5,000






109,700
. . . .









Table 1.-Continued
DISTRIBUTION OF FINGERLING FISH BY COUNTY


1949 1950
Bass Bream Bass Bream
Putnam ................. 27,500 4,000 25,160 ............
S t. J o h n s .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
St. Lucie ................ .. ........
Santa Rosa .. ........... 2,000 32,600 4,050 135,540
Sarasota ................ 6 ,000 ............ 12 ............
Sem inole ................ 37,000 ............ 24,500 ............
Sumter................... 9,000 ............ 12,000 50,000
Suwannee............... ............ 36,000 ... ..... .. 59,000
Taylor................. .. .......... 2,000 .......................
U union .................. ......................... ...................
V olusia.................. 10 ,000 ............ 24 ,000 ............
W akulla................. 1,500 18,000 ............ 28,400
W alton.................. 1,250 18,000 2,620 57,500
Washington.............. 1,250 40,050 2,500 142,000
Totals...... 542,004 687,075 470,158 1,441,288


The areas involved, the headquarters for each area, the organi-
zation, personnel and projects are listed in the organization chart,
Figure 1. Supervisors and their assistants are available to all in-
dividuals, groups and organizations who desire assistance and
advice in any phases of fresh water fishery problems including
the inspection and improvement of fishing waters, fish stocking,
bait minnow culture, fish rescue, water hyacinth and other aquatic
weed control, fish mortality and pollution, fish identification, rough
fish control, fish tagging and others.
This program of providing public assistance and advice on
these matters was initiated at the demand for these public serv-
ices which has arisen in recent years, as a result of the education
of the public to the fact that waters can be managed under the
direction of trained and experienced experts to provide better
fishing, and to help solve other problems requiring the services
of a biologist. Since its inception in late 1950, the program has met
with considerable success. Assistance has been given to more than
eighty groups and individuals on the intensive management of
small ponds or lakes for fishing. A number of persons have been
advised on the best methods of raising bait minnows, and several
groups have been provided assistance in carrying out control of
water hyacinths. Notable among the latter was the supervision
and planning of the eradication of the water hyacinths from Lake









Talquin, a large impoundment near Tallahassee, which is gradu-
ally being rehabilitated after being almost choked out by this pest
plant. It should be emphasized that the Commission does not at
present have the funds to provide active control of water hyacinths
but can supply technical assistance to groups who wish to under-
take control themselves. A number of instances of fish mortality
were investigated, and where possible, recommendations made con-
cerning ways to avoid future such happenings. Several ponds and
lakes throughout the state which were renovated or reclaimed by
the Division in cooperation with local organizations are now pro-
ducing good fishing. Among these are Lake Wire in Lakeland and
Lake Ella in Tallahassee which have been set aside for children's
fishing lakes. Several other waters have been renovated, stocked,
and will be ready for fishing sometime during 1951.
Fish Culture and Distribution
Fingerling fish for stocking purposes are produced at the Com-
mission's hatcheries located at the Blackwater Fish Management
Station near Holt, the Wewahitchka Fish Management Station at
Wewahitchka, and the Winter Haven Fish Management Station
at Eagle Lake, and are distributed over the whole state. In addi-
tion, numbers of fish are often obtained from the hatchery of the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Welaka, with which a coop-
erative agreement is in effect. Most of the fish are released in
public waters on application from sportsmen's groups, civic or-
ganizations, and interested individuals. Recently, however, a pro-
gram has been originated under which recently constructed or
renovated private waters may receive an initial stocking, and
waters which have been analyzed and recommended for stocking
by a fishery technician of the Fish Management Division, the U. S.
Soil Conservation Service, or the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
may receive fish. This departure from previous policy (which
limited stocking to public waters) is based on the Commission's
objective of providing fishing for an increased number of fisher-
men. It is felt that encouragement of the management of small
bodies of water by private individuals and groups will not only
provide better fishing for them but will reduce pressure on public
waters.
Blackwater Fish Management Station
The Blackwater Fish Management Station is located in the
Blackwater Forest between Holt and Munson, in Santa Rosa
County. The hatchery and surrounding area (including a large









deer corral) is under a 19-year lease from the Florida Forest
Service, which in turn has leased the area from the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, which holds the title to it, the facilities having
been constructed in the late 1930's by the Resettlement Adminis-
tration, a Federal agency. An impoundment of approximately thirty
acres supplies water by gravity to the six 1.75-acre ponds, which
in turn drain into a tributary of the Blackwater River. The pro-
ductive pond area of 10.5 acres is stocked with brood bluegills and
shellcrackers in the winter and fertilized and managed until about
June. At this time the ponds are partly drawn down and the
first crop of fingerlings removed by seine. Brood fish are then
returned, fertilizing resumed, and by September or October the
second crop of young bream is ready for distribution. During the
last two years, fry largemouth bass have been obtained from the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and reared to fingerling size in two
of the ponds at Blackwater. This program of raising bass also at
this hatchery has met with widespread approval in western
Florida and will be continued.
Buildings and equipment include two residences, one garage
and storage barn, and one set of concrete holding pools, plus a
Jeep, a mower, and other necessary tools and nets. During this
biennium an accurate system of counting fish produced at this
hatchery was installed for the first time, whereas rough estimates
only had been used to measure production in past years. Com-
parison of past and present production records at this station give
the impression of higher yield in previous years, but it is believed
that these higher figures are due solely to over-estimation, as the
number of truckloads of fish and waters stocked has steadily
increased.
Data on fish stocked from the Blackwater Fish Management Sta-
tion may be found in Tables 1 and 2.
Costs of operating this Station during the biennium were $12,-
978.57, $9,041.83 of which was expended for salaries and labor.
One custodian is stationed here to maintain and look after the
station property, and local labor and personnel from other Fish
Management projects assist in the removal of fish.
Wewahitchka Fish Management Station
The Wewahitchka Fish Management Station is located in Gulf
County just northeast of Wewahitchka, adjacent to the famed Dead
Lakes, into which most of the production of this hatchery goes.
The productive area of this hatchery is one pond of approximately








four acres which was re-graded and renovated in early 1930 at
a cost of $1,988.86. In addition to this work, two concrete catch
basins were constructed by Commission personnel with materials
provided by the Dead Lakes Sportsmen's Association, increasing
the facility of removing the fish. An additional pond of approxi-
mately three acres is present, but due to the difficulty in managing
water levels and lack of funds for renovation, this pond is not
used at present. Attempts are made to produce two crops of bream
annually at this station, but as the draw-down of the major pond
depends upon the water level in the adjacent Dead Lakes, it is
often impossible to harvest more than one crop of fish, the bottom
of the pond being considerably below high water levels in the
Dead Lakes.
Buildings and equipment at this station include two residences,
one barn and miscellaneous storage buildings, one pickup truck,
and the Commission's large distribution truck which distributes all
of the west Florida fish. Also located at this station is the Fish Man-
agement Supervisor for Area "A" and the Superintendent of both
the Blackwater and Wewahitchka Fish Management Stations.
Data on fish stocked from the Wewahitchka Fish Management
Station may be found in Tables 1 and 2.
Costs of operating this station and related projects during the
biennium, including the construction costs mentioned above, were
$15,621.39, $5,892.00 of which was for salaries and labor.
Winter Haven Fish Management Station
The Winter Haven Fish Management Station is located about
two miles southeast of the town of Eagle Lake in Polk County.
The productive water area of this station consists of one lake of
approximately 50 acres which receives its water supply from an
adjacent drainage canal. Bass only are raised at this station, be-
tween 1500 and 2000 brood bass being placed in the lake each
winter. The fingerling bass are caught by seine, usually from
February through July, after which the lake is drained, allowed
to dry out thoroughly and then prepared for the following season.
Principal problems of fish production at this station include the
pollution of the water supply by a local citrus processing plant, an
inadequate volume of water, and a heavy growth of weeds which
requires constant maintenance to control. Hurricane winds in
1949 necessitated the almost complete rebuilding of one storage
house.
Buildings and equipment at this station include the Superin-








Table 2.
DISTRIBUTION OF FISH BY HATCHERY

1949 1950
HATCHERY: Truckloads Truckloa
Bass Bream of Fish Bass Braam of Fish

W intpr H-iven......... 457,054 .......... 93 438,08S ........ 63
I'.I .- -,. r, ............ 9,000 425,075 31 31,370 1,062,790 27
Wewahitchka . . . . 150 262,000 5 ... . . 378,498 2
W elaka . .. ..... 75,800 ........... 2 700 ........ 1
1949 1950
Total Number of Waters .. ...
Stocked .. .. 299 ........... ........... 326



tendent's residence, one storage barn and garage, a battery of four
concrete holding pools, and partial use of a small canal for holding
brood fish. A distribution truck, power mower, and other neces-
sary equipment and nets are stored here. This station also acts as
the headquarters for the Rough Fish Control projects and is the
location for the preparation and repair of equipment used on these
projects.
Data on fish stocked from the Winter Haven Fish Management
Station may be found in Tables 1 and 2.
Costs of operating this station during the biennium were $23,-
632.23, $16,180.09 of which were for salaries and labor. A Super-
intendent, a truck driver and one laborer make up the complement
of this station's personnel.

Live Fish Exhibits
Another activity handled by personnel of all the Fish Manage-
ment Stations is the staging of live fish exhibits at various County
and State Fairs and other occasions. This activity has increased
tremendously during this biennium and entails considerable ex-
pense and effort. Seventeen such exhibits were made during 1949
and twenty-one in 1950. This compares with six made in 1947 and
nine made in 1948.
Fish for these exhibits are generally obtained by seines and nets
in the wild during the fair season and transported to the Fish
Management Stations where they are held until needed. Lake
Okeechobee, Lake George, Lake Apopka and the large lakes in
the Kissimmee Valley have all contributed fish for these exhibits.








As the mortality of these fish is extremely high, it is necessary
to use a new lot of fish for each exhibit. Attempts to reduce the
high mortality rate by chemical treatment have so far been un-
successful. Between 75 and 100 adult bass, bream and other mixed
species are required for each exhibit, with the exception of the
Tampa State Fair, which sometimes requires as many as 1,000.

Rough Fish Control Operations and
Fish Population Surveys
The rough fish control operations constitute one of the most
interesting phases of the Fish Management Division's work. These
operations are designed principally to remove large numbers of
undesirable rough fish from many of the more popular fishing
waters, where it is felt that such removal will aid in producing
better fishing. The operations are carefully studied with complete
records kept on each catch, and constitute a major portion of the
basic inventory of fishery stocks which is badly needed for future
management.
The Division now has two completely equipped seining crews
engaged in this work. Each crew is equipped with approximately
800 to 1,000 yards of seine, a truck, and the necessary power
launches and small boats, and is under the constant supervision
and direction of a Fish Management Technician. Fishermen are
recruited from local citizens who operate the equipment and
receive as compensation 3 of the proceeds from the sale of catfish
and other rough fish. One-fourth of the proceeds is returned to
the Commission to help defray costs of operating, maintaining and
supervising the equipment and activities. As is the case with such
seining in other waters, all game fish are returned immediately
from the net, a number of them weighed and measured, and an
accurate count kept of all fish by the supervising technician. All
catfish, gar, gizzard shad, suckers, and other rough species are
removed from the waters and sold to licensed fish dealers, or in the
case of gar and gizzard shad, to fertilizer or other rendering
companies.
While lack of funds has prevented a complete study of the
effects of this rough fish removal on fishing in all of the waters
studied, it has been possible to denote some beneficial effects from
this work already. Several lakes have shown an increase in the
percentage of game fish found following such operations and
growth of fish has been bettered. As all lakes vary considerably








in content and composition, it is necessary to discuss each lake in-
dividually and to interpret the data obtained on the fish popula-
tions for each one. Rough fish control operations are usually per-
formed in lakes where use of a haul seine is practicable and at
the request of sportsmen's clubs, chambers of commerce, and other
civic organizations. Numbers of interested sportsmen regularly
visit the operations, and are invariably astounded at the amounts
of fish contained in most of the waters. While most of this work
has been performed during this biennium, some data are included
on work done in the previous biennium, as these have not pre-
viously been published. Areas of waters were obtained by plani-
meter from county and city maps, and U. S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey charts.
LAKE APOPKA
Lake Apopka, Florida's fourth largest fresh-water lake, has re-
ceived considerable attention in the matter of rough fish control
and other experimental work. Seining operations under Division
supervision have been conducted during three separate periods,
October-December 1947, July and August 1948, and December
1949 through March 1950. In addition to surveys of the fish popu-
lation and control of rough fish, an intensive study of tagged black
bass was conducted, and experimental gill nets reported on in
Table 19 have been operated. Results of the tagging studies were
compiled in a special scientific report referred to at the end of
this section.
Initial work in 1947 indicated an average fish population some-
what heavy on the rough side, as the latter composed almost 65
percent of the total weight. However, a phenomenal change took
place in the population during the next two years, which started
soon after the elimination of hyacinths from Lake Apopka by the
Apopka Sportsmen's Association. While the average haul took
approximately 900 pounds in 1947, by July 1948 it had jumped to
2,400 pounds and then to almost 9,000 pounds in the winter of
1949-50, indicating a huge increase in the total fish population of
Lake Apopka. The composition also changed considerably, the
game fish populations increasing, according to the studies, from
35 percent in 1947 to 57 percent in 1948 and to 70 percent in 1949-50.
This drastic change in Lake Apopka was attributed to several
factors. First, and probably most important, was the increase in
basic fertility of Lake Apopka, which was attributed to the decay
and decomposition of the water hyacinths and other aquatic vege-









Table 3.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEY FOR THREE SEPARATE
PERIODS IN LAKE APOPKA


Name of Waters... . .......... . Lake Apopka
County .............. ............ ... Lake and Orange
Approximate arena ........ . ... . .. . . .... .49.2 sq.mi.-31,488 acre
__________________________________________________________ _________________________ s


Ave. depth surveyed (ft.)
Bottom type...........
Date of Survey ..... ...
Length of seine (yds.)..
Minimum mesh (stretched)


Species Composition

Largemouth Bass........
Black Crappie ..........
B luegill ................
Shelleracker............
Redbreast ............. .
Miscellaneous Sunfish ....
Chain Pickerel ..........
Channel Catfish.......
W hite Catfish..........
Speckled Bullhead ......
Yellow Bullhead........
Longnose Car...........
Other Car. .............
M udfish................
Gizzard Shad ...........
Chub Sucker............
Golden Shiner.......... .

Total Fish Taken........
Number of Hlauls........
Ave. Pounds per Haul... .
Pounds Taken per Acre. .
Pounds Rough Fish
Removed.............
Pounds Rough Fish
Removed per Acre.....


5-14
Mud and sand
Oct.-Dec. '47
1,000
3 2 inches


Pounds
Taken


2,404
1,652
2,517
3,737

"4,257


S903
7,141
45
98
8,209
10,105


41,068
46
892
1.3

26,501

0.8


Percent-
age


3.5-12
Mud and Sand
July-Aug. '48
1,500
3 inches


Pounds
Taken


Percent-
age


i i Pe


5.9
4.0
6.1
9. 1

10.4


2.2

17.4
0.1
0.2
20.0
24.6


100


3,498
4,123
4,277
5,711


7

241
5,629
4
3,943
582
135
1,773
1,081
49

31,071
13
2,390
1.0

13,437

0.4


11.2
13.2
13.7
18.3

0.1


0.7
18.1

13.0
2.0
0.4
5.7
3.5
0.1

100


5-13
Sand and mud
Dec. '49-Mar. '50
800-900
3 inches


Pounds
Taken


13,772
49,361
62,336
49,637
45
13
168

2,648
22,149
32
11,789
425
1,173
25,767
2,173
830

242,318
27
8,975
7.7

66,986

2.1


Percent-
age


5.7
20.4
25.7
20.5


0.1

1.1
9.1

4.9
0.2
0.5
10.6
0.9
0.3

100


station killed in 1948.
this period converted
the clouding caused


The increase in plankton and algae during
Lake Apopka from a clear to a cloudy lake,
by minute microscopic plants and animals


which form the basic food for all fish. Other contributing factors
were the low rainfalls and water levels in Lake Apopka, which
did not allow sufficient normal dilution to nullify the effects of the
accumulated deposits of other organic discharges from citrus proc-
essing plants and sewage disposal units in the area, and to two









extremely warm winters which were apparently not cool enough
to inhibit the growth of these organisms.
Sport fishing success in Lake Apopka also followed an unusual
cycle during this period. It went from fair in 1947 to extremely
poor during most of 1948 and 1949, recovering early in 1950 and
producing record catches of crappie, shellcracker, and black bass,
a condition which has existed throughout 1950. While it is im-
possible to predict the behavior of fish populations with absolute
certainty, observations indicate that the population of Lake Apopka
reached an all-time high during 1950 and may gradually level off
and provide good fishing for several more years, although per-
haps not the phenomenal success that has been enjoyed during
1950. Amounts of fish handled and composition of the populations
by species is reported on for the three separate study periods in
Table 3. While no claims are made at present that the operation
of the rough fish control unit had any significant effect on the sub-
sequent changes in Lake Apopka's fish population, it is quite evi-
dent that the seining operations that occurred at least had no harm-
ful effect.
LAKE PARKER
Lake Parker, a 2,082 acre lake located in the City of Lakeland
in Polk County, has also received considerable attention from the
rough fish control unit. Control operations were requested by the
Polk County Sportsmen's Association and took place during seven
months in 1949 and 1950. A total of 254,610 pounds of rough fish
were removed from Lake Parker during the 7 months period, but
no significant changes could be denoted in either the composition
nor the quantity of fish handled during the entire period. However,
a number of sports fishermen reported better catches following
the control operations, and the average sizes of some species, par-
ticularly the speckled bullhead, were considerably larger at the
end of the period. It is quite possible that the thinning which took
place during the 1949 removal of some 63,300 pounds, or 30 pounds
of catfish to the acre was responsible for the increased growth
rate by this species. Dominant among the game fish of Lake Parker
is the black crappie, constituting the major piscivorous (or fish-
eating) species to be found. In the presence of this high crappie
population, bass made up only a small part, a condition noted in
other lakes examined. Game fish make up an average of about
34 percent of the total weight of adult fish to be found. Unless
control of the huge crappie population is desired by local sports-









men, the chances that Lake Parker will ever become a good bass
fishing lake are remote. Annual operations are planned for this
lake, however, to keep track of the changing populations and to
determine whether further control work is effective. Complete
data on monthly composition of adult fish populations as determined
by haul seine surveys may be found in Table 4.

LAKE THONOTOSASSA
Lake Thonotosassa, a 768 acre lake located in Hillsborough
County, was the site of a short period of operations in March and
April 1950. Lake Thonotosassa was formerly noted as an excellent
fishing lake, particularly for black crappie, and was used extensively
by citizens of Tampa, Plant City, and other nearby communities. In
about 1947 water hyacinths almost completely covered this lake
and the first step in its rehabilitation was taken when local inter-
ests accomplished the elimination of the hyacinths. However,
fishing remained poor following this elimination, and several or-
ganizations, notably the Thonotosassa Chamber of Commerce and
the East Hillsborough Sportsmen's Association, requested that at-
tention be paid to the lake.
The survey revealed several outstanding conditions in Lake
Thonotosassa. First, only 6 percent of the total weight of fish taken
during the operation was in game fish, by far the largest part of
the population being composed of catfish, gar and other rough
fish. The very few bass taken were all relatively large bass, aver-
aging about 4 pounds in weight, a condition indicative of an un-
balanced bass population. Average sizes of crappie were small,
indicating that growth was stunted. Large channel catfish, making
up almost 60 percent of the population, were dominant, followed
by the speckled bullhead (16 percent) and garfish (15 percent).
Checks with small-mesh seines indicated that natural reproduc-
tion by bass was non-existent. Apparently game fish populations
were being crowded out and preyed upon to such extent by rough
fishes that the restoration of good fishing without interference by
man could be accomplished only over a very long period, if ever.
A total of 4,251 pounds of rough fish, or 5.5 pounds per acre, were
removed. In May, 1950, some 14,000 largemouth bass fingerlings,
or approximately 20 per acre were stocked in Thonotosassa in an
attempt to re-establish the population of bass in this lake. Further
survey work will be done in the spring of 1951 to see whether
this stocking and control has been effective, and to remove addi-










Table 4.
MONTHLY COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEY IN LAKE PARKER


N am e of W waters ......... I ......... . .... I .. . . ..
County ..... .. ............ .... ......... ... .....
Approximate Area .................... ....... .. .. .

Average Depth Surveyed (feet).................. 8-9 6-9 .5 6- 5-7 6 7
Bottom Type........... ... .............. Sand and Mud 'and and Mud Sand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand and Mud
Date of Survey..... ........................ Sept., 1949 October, 1949 April. 1950 May, 1950 June. 1950
I --..-i. f Seine (yards) ............. .......... 1100 1100 80 S0 750 720
SI, .. Mesh (stretched) .............. ..... 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches

Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds rent- Pounds cent-
Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age

Largemouth Bass ... ............ 194 0.3 393 0,5 175 0.4 406 0.6 5S 0.1
Black Crappie .... ..... .... .. 13,125 17.8 13.590 16,. 12,071 30.4 15.505 23.2 3,905 9.S
Bluegill. ....... ..... ............ 9,425 12.8 18,355 21.6 5,346 13.4 10,820 16.1 5,906 14.9
Shelleracker ...... .. ..... .... .. .. 34 0.1 222 0.3 561 1.4 79 0. 1 136 0.3
Redbreast. .. .... ....... .
Miscellaneous Sunfish .... . ... 2 3 8 .
Chain Pickerel. . . . .. . .
Channel Catfish ............ ....... . 2 .
White Catfish... .... . . . . 851 1.2 1,798 2.1 1,015 2.6 1,37 2.1 503 1.3
Speckled Bullhead .. ................... 32,094 43.6 2S.558 33.7 7,960 20.0 21,418 31.0 13,530 34.2
Yellow Bullhead............ ........ .. 1 1 . . 15 6
Longnose Gar. ....... .. .. .. ...
Otherar ....... ........... .... 324 0.4 293 0.3 396 .0 49 5
l..li'sl ...... . . ... ...... 434 0.6 188 0.2 901 2.3 1,145 1 7 141 0.4
.. ...... . ... .. ....... 17,100 23.2 21,315 25.1 11,320 28.5 16,310 21.3 15,450 39.0
Chub Sucker........... .. 1 1
Golden Shiner ... ..... .. ............. 12 .. 77 0.1 5 .... 4 2 ..


Number of hauls ..... ............ ....... 12 .. 109 10
Average pounds per haul. ................... 6.133 . 4 463 ... 4,969 ... 3,949 ...... 3,965
Pounds taken per acre................... .. 35.3 ..... 41 19 32 ...... 19
Pounds rough fish removed ........... . 50,817 52,233 ... 21 . 40,319 .... 29,637
Pounds rough fish removed per acre........ ..... ... . . .. . .... ..


Sand and Mud
July, 1950
720-S00
3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

316 0.",
6,150 13.1
5,375 11.5
263 0.6



207 0.4
17,450 37.3
24 ..

559 1.2
254 0.5
16,235 34.6
4
2
14

46,890 100
13 ..
3,07 . .
23
34,758


-.


....... ......... Lake Parke
... Polk County
. 2,012 acres

6-7
Sand and Mud
August, 1950 Totals
0S0 Sept., 1949-
3 inches August, 1950

Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds ceit-
Takcn age Taken age

128 0.4 1,670 0.4
6,070 17.6 70,416 1S.2
3,050 8.8 58.277 15.1
S3 0.2 1,400 0.4

2) 5 2
2.
158 0.5 5,910 1.5
13,605 39.3 134,124 34.8
46 0.1 93 ... .

3 1,629 0.4
246 0.7 3,300 0.7
11,183 32.4 I0 28.3
8 .. .. 14 .
102
.. .. 14

34,609 1) 00 ,: 10.0

3,843 . .
17 i 1i)l
25,249 254,610
........ ..... i 122










tional rough fish. The outcome of these contemplated studies is
being watched with considerable interest, as the effect of this con-
trol and stocking program will be the first recorded thoroughly
in an instance of this type. Complete data on the composition of
adult fish populations as determined by haul seine surveys may
be found in Table 5.



Table 5.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEYS IN THREE
FLORIDA LAKES


Name of Waters...........

County. . .. . . . . .
Approximate Area ..........
Average Depth Surveyed (ft.)
Bottom Type. ............ .
Date of Survey .............

Length of Seine (yards) ...
Mimnmum Mesh (stretched). .



Species Composition

Largemouth........ ....
Black Crappie............
B lu egill .......... .......
Sh llcracker.......... .
Redbreast...............
1Miscellaneous Sunfish ....
Chain Pickerel ..........
Channel Catfish .........
W hite Catfish .........
Speckled Bullhead . . . .
Yellow Bullhead.........
Longuose Gar. .......... .
Other Gar..... ....
Mludfish .. ... ....
Gizzard Shad ...........
Chub Sucker............
Golden Shiner... ........

Total fish taken ............
Number of hauls ..... ..
Average pounds per haul. .
Pounds taken per acre .......
Pounds rough fish removed.
Pounds rough fish removed
per acre. ...............


Lake
Thonotosassa
Hillsborough
768 acres
4.5-8
Lard Sand
Mar. 27-Apr. 7,
1950
800
3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

84 1.9
135 3.0
40 0.9
10 0.2
2 . . . .
2 . . .

2,615 58.5
2 ...
708 15.7
17 0.3
610 13.5
43 1.0
53 1 2
11 0.2
144 3.2
18 0.4

4,522 100
6 . . .
754 ......
5 .9 ......
4 ,251 ......

5 .5 ......


Johns Lake
Orange
2,714 acres
8-12
Sand and Mud

Nov.-Dee, 1950
835
3 inches


Pounds
Taken

1,655
1,377
5,297
64

7
17
30,606
2,681
235
46
1, 858
443
4
9,324
61
30

53,705
25
2,148
19.8
45,288


cent-
age

3.1
2.6
9.9
0.1



57.0
5.0
0.4
0.1
3.5
0.8

17.4
0.1


100


16 7 I......


Lake Louisa
Lake
3,200 acres
7-8
Hard Sand

Jan.-Feb., 1950
860
3 inches


Pounds
Taken

112
263
599
2
3

3,216
721

4
53
88
23
3
5


5,092
8
637
1.6
4,113


Per-
cent-
age

2.2
5.3
11.8




63.3
14.2


1.0
1.7
0.5




100


1 .3 .....









LAKE KISSIMMEE


Lake Kissimmee is a lake of approximately 53.4 square miles
in southern Osceola County and is Florida's third largest fresh-
water lake. Control operations were conducted in Lake Kissim-
mee from March to August in 1949 and between August and
November 1950. A number of factors combined to interfere with
the success of seining operations in these waters, chief of which
was the weather, a period of drought occurring in the 1949 oper-
tions and the hurricane season in the 1950 operations. Although
the monthly fluctuations in abundance of various species coincide
generally with those denoted in Lake Okeechobee and Lake George,
it is impossible to draw conclusions on this activity of the fish popu-
lation, as the work was not constant and was interrupted by the
factors mentioned. In general, game fish populations were rela-
tively high, averaging about 50 percent during the two periods,
and all game fish appeared to be in good condition. A healthy pop-
ulation of black bass was found with sufficient numbers of all
sizes present, particularly during the 1950 studies. Crappie was
the dominant game fish, while gizzard shad comprised the largest
single species of the rough fish. Monthly compositions of adult
fish populations as determined by haul seine surveys may be
found in Table 6.


LAKE TOHOPEKALIGA

Lake Tohopekaliga, a 30.6 square mile lake located adjacent to
the city of Kissimmee in Osceola County, received the attentions of
the rough fish control unit in November and December, 1948. The
studies indicated a fairly good standing population, an average
haul of almost 800 pounds being taken. Game fish comprised over
60 percent of the total population, this segment being dominated
by the crappie (48 percent). The dominant rough fish was the chan-
nel catfish followed by the gizzard shad. Growth of crappie in this
lake was .slower than normal, two and three year old fish measur-
ing only 8 to 11 inches in total length. This slow growth is believed
to be due to over-crowding, although apparently the over-crowding
was not so serious as to cause an unbalanced condition. Most bass
taken were small but appeared to be in good condition. Data on
the composition of adult fish populations as determined by haul
seine survey for Lake Tohopekaliga can be found in Table 7.








Table 6.
MONTHLY COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEY IN LAKE KISSIMMEE

N am e of W aters. ............ .. .. .. . .. ..... .. ... ..............e .. ..s. ................. ............... ... .. .......... ......... Lake K issim m ee
County ................................................... ......................................................... ............................. ..Osceola County
Approximate Area .................................................................................................................. 4,203 acres 3.4 sq.m.County

Average depth surveyed (feet).. 5-10 6-9 7-S 7.5-9 4-9 i 3-9 4-8 4.5-8
Bottom Type................. Sand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand Sand and Mud SRand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand
Date of Survey................. April, 1949 May, 1949 June, 1949 July, 1949 August, 1950 Sept., 1950 October,1950 Nov., 1950
Length of Seine (yards)........ 1100 1100 1100 1100 800 800 830 835 TOTALS
Minimum Mesh (stretched)..... 3 i 3 inc 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches
Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age
Largemouth Bass........... 1,490 4.1 1,165 3.8 1,665 3.7 1,315 4.2 928 6.8 2,405 9.6 1,319 6.6 93 5.5 10,390 5.1
Black Crappie...............16,315 44.7 7,300 24.4 17,225 38.1 10,800 34.5 810 5.9 1,073 4.3 1,995 10.0 340 20.3 55,859 27.5
Bluegill ................. 1,010 2.8 2,050 6.8 6,825 15.1 2,715 8.7 662 4.8 2,251 9.0 1,604 9.0 28 1.7 17,145 8.4
Shellcracker............... 4,485 12.3 3,675 12.3 2,750 6.1 3,840 12.3 2,022 14.7 2,908 11.6 2,274 11.4 148 8.8 22,102 10.9
~ Redheesot............... ...................................... ........... ........ ..... ........... ..... .........
0 M miscellaneous Sunfish ...... 2 ...... .......... 2 .. 1 ...... ...... ... ....... .... 1 .... . .... 6
Chain Pickerel ............. 108 0.3 5 0.3 137 0.3 133 0.4 46 0.3 67 0.3 17 0.1 4 0.2 597 0.3
Channel Catfish............. 3,461 9.5 2,061 6.9 2,671 5.9 2,967 9.5 338 2.5 2,259 9.1 4,252 21.4 45 2.7 18,054 8.9
White Catfish..... ........ 1,957 5.4 1,720 5.7 845 1.9 1,031 3.3 441 3.2 1,841 7.4 1,092 5.5 10 0.6 8,937 4.4
Speckled Bullhead ............ 539 1.4 682 2.3 1,062 2.3 1,123 3.6 1,707 12.5 1,664 6.7 957 4.9 6 0.4 7,740 3.8
Yellow Bullhead............. 3 ...... 1 ...... 5 ... 1 ...... 11 0.1 38 0.2 4 : . ... 63
Longuose lar ............... .. .. .... ... .....
OtheGar................... 399 1.1 295 1.0 460 1.0 133 0.4 501 3.7 405 1.6 381 1.9 44 2.6 2,618 1.3
Mudfish .................. 82 0.2 395 1.3 1,045 2.3 729 2.3 2,202 16.1 2,723 10.9 507 2.5 .. 7,683 3.7
Gizzard Shad................ 4,735 12.9 8,300 27.6 6,450 14.2 4,835 15.4 483 3.5 910 3.6 3,277 16.4 947 56.5 29,937 14.7
ChubSucker................. 1,010 2.8 1,435 4.8 2,475 5.5 1,280 4.1 3,465 25.3 6,364 25.5 2,252 11.3 9 0.5 18,200 9.0
Golden Shiner .............. I 900 2.5 850 2.8 1,650 3.6 410 1.3 85 0.6 56 0.2 6 ...... 3 0.2 3,900 1.7
Fotal fish taken............... 36,496 100 30,014 100 45,267 100 31,313 100 13,701 100 24,964 100 19,938 100 1,677 100 203,370 100
Number of hauls.......... 16 ..... 11 .. 11 ...... 1 13 .. 9 .... 17 .... 16 ..... 3 ...... 96
Average pounds per haul ........ 2,281 . 2,72 ...... 4,115 . 2,409 1,522 .. 1,468 .... 1,246 559 .... 2,118
Pounds taken per acre.......... 1.1 ..... 0.9 ...... 1.3 .. 0.9 .... 0.4 ...... 0.7 ..... 0.6 ..... i 5.9
Pounds Rough fish removed..... 13,086 ...... 15,739 .... 19,663 ..... 12,509 .... 9,233 ...... 16,260 .... 12,728 .... 1,064 .... 97,2S2
Pounds rough fish removed per
acre ... ............................ ...... .......... ...... ...... ......... ...... 2.8

1 Includes 2 hauls March 29 and 31, 1949.
2 Includes 1 haul August 4, 1949.
i Insignificant.












LAKE CYPRESS
Rough fish control operations took place in Lake Cypress in De-
cember 1948 and January and February of 1949. Lake Cypress is
another of the Kissimmee chain located in Osceola County with
an approximate area of 6.4 square miles. A good standing popula-
tion was found, the average pounds of fish taken per haul amount-
ing to 1,600. Sixty-eight percent of the total population was com-
posed of desirable game fishes with the crappie dominating (40
percent). Channel catfish was the dominant rough fish (13 percent),
but it was encouraging to note that rough fishes were in the mi-
nority. Lake Cypress had the best population of bass by compari-

Table 7.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEYS IN FOUR
OSCEOLA COUNTY LAKES


Lake East Lake Lake Lake
Name of Waters. ... ...... Tohopekaliga Tohopekaliga Hlatchineha Cypress
County ........... .... ....... Osceola Osceola Osceola Osceola
Approximate area ........... ...... 19,533 acres 12,774 acres 9,216 acres 4,096 acres
Average Depth Surveyed (feet) ..... 7-13 6-8 5.5 11 6.5-10.5
Bottonim Type ........ ........ ..... Sand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand and Mud Sand and Mud
Date of Survey.... .. 194S 1949 1949 1948-49
8Nov.-16 Dec. 15 Aug.-2 Sept. 14Feb.-1SMIar. 8 Nov.-11 Feb.
Length of Seine (yards) 900 1100 900 900
Minimum Mesh (stretched)... 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches 3 inches

Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age

Largemouth Bass ..... .. .......... 693 3.2 750 5.8 2,003 5.2 3,731 7.3
Black Crappie ....... ....... 10,745 47.6 5,600 43.5 9,686 25.1 20,375 39.8
Bluegill ............ . .... 1,023 4.3 1,435 11.5 6,513 16.9 7,298 14.3
Shellcracker ........ ... .... .. 1,956 9.3 240 1.9 3,956 10.3 3,417 6.7
Redbreast.... ................... .
Miscellaneous Sunfish ........... ... .. .. ..... ..... 17. .. ..
Chain Pickerel .... .... .... .......... 4 ...... .. . . . ... ..
Channel Catfish.... ..... ............... 2,655 14.3 1,012 7.8 3,989 10.3 6,814 13.3
White Catfish..... .. ......... ....... 1,493 6.3 88 0.7 3.7S3 9.8 3,820 7.5
Speckled Bullhead .... ... .... 269 1.0 27 0.2 975 2.5 1,014 2.0
Yellow Bullhead ..... .. . ..... . .. .... ... .. 3 .... 15 -
Longnose Gar................ ... .... ..... .... 158 1.2 . .
Other Gar...... ......... ......... 209 1.2 30 0.2 444 1.1 2,200 4.3
M udfish...... .. . ..... 9 4 453 1.2 177 0.3
Gizzard Shad ..... ............. 2,302 12.8 3,200 24.8 3,170 8.2 2,039 4.0
Chub Sucker. ..... . .. ....... 3 313 2.4 3,152 1.2 229 0.4
Golden Shiner. ....... 2 . .. .. 451 .. 68 0.1

Total fish taken.. ... ............... 21,363 100 12,858 100 38,5W5 100 51.209 100
Number of hauls ....... ................ 27 ..... 11 ...... 19 .. 32
Average pounds per haul .............. ... 791 .... 1,169 ...... 2,031 .. .. 1,600
Pounds taken per acre........... ........... 1.1 ... 1.0 ...... 4.2 12.5 .
Pounds rough fish removed................... f,942 ..... 4,833 .. 16,420 16,388 .....
Pounds rough fish removed per acre .......... 0.4 .. 0.4 . 1. 4.0 .....









son of the lakes studied in the Kissimmee chain, an abundance of
all sizes being present and in good condition. Long term rough
fish control programs in Lake Cypress did not seem justified under
present conditions, although continuous checks should be made.
The composition of the adult fish population as determined by
haul seine surveys may be found in Table 7.
LAKE HATCHINEHA
Lake Hatchineha, another member of the Kissimmee chain in
Osceola County with a surface area of approximately 14.4 square
miles, received attention during February and March of 1949. The
survey indicated that this was also an excellent lake for game fish,
as they comprised almost 58 percent of all fish taken. Again crap-
pie were dominant (25 percent) and high populations of bluegill
(17 percent) and shellcracker (10 percent) were also noted. The
three species of catfish made up the dominant segment of the rough
fish population (23 percent), the gizzard shad approximating 8 per-
cent. The bass population was good, a wide range of sizes being
present, and all game fish appeared to be in good condition. Ex-
tensive rough fish control operations did not seem justified, although
annual checks should be made. Complete data on adult fish popu-
lations as determined by haul seine surveys may be found in
Table 7.
EAST LAKE TOHOPEKALIGA
East Lake Tohopekaliga, located between Kissimmee and St.
Cloud in Osceola County, received attention in August and Sep-
tember of 1949. East Lake appeared to have a good standing popu-
lation as the average haul made was almost 1,200 pounds of fish.
Game fish comprised approximately 62 percent of the adult popu-
lation, with the crappie dominating (44 percent). Gizzard shad
(25 percent) was the major rough species found, followed by
channel catfish (8 percent). A desirable bass population was found,
composing almost 6 percent of the total weight, individual fish
averaging slightly over 2 pounds each. Due to the short duration
of operations, no immediate effects were noticed, nor can be ex-
pected. Extensive rough fish control operations in East Lake
Tohopekaliga at this time did not seem justified in view of the
demand for the use of the units in lakes more heavily populated
with rough fish. Complete data on the composition of adult fish
populations as determined by haul seine survey may be found in
Table 7.









Table 8.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS DETERMINED
BY HAUL SEINE SURVEY IN EIGHT POLK COUNTY LAKES


Name of Waters .........
County .. .........
Approximate Area ......

Average Depth Sur-
veyed (feet). ......
Bottom Type... .......
Date of Survey. ...
Length of Seine (yards)..
Minimum Mesh
(stretched) . .....



Species Composition

Largeimouth Bass .....
Black Crappie........
n Bluegill .............
Ca Shellcracker .........
,...11,,. ,
thali l icle rel .......
Channel Catfish .....
White Catfish ........
Speckled Bullhead ....
Yellow Bullhead., ....
Longnose Gar........
Other Gar............
M udfish ..... .....
Gizzard Shad .........
Chub Sucker..........
Golden Shiner.........

Total fish taken ........
Number of hauls... ..
Average pounds per haul.
Pounds taken per acre...
Pounds rough fish re-
m oved ..............
Pounds rough fish re-
moved per acre........


Lake Hartridge
Pdlk county
384 Acres


7.5-10 9,5-12
Sand and Mud Mud and Sand
Nov.-Dec. 1949 Dec. 6-20, 1950
760 735


3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

251 2.7
575 5.9
370 3.9
90 0.9



6,344 66.1
615 8.4



4.
10 0.1



6 0.1
1,310 13.7
17 0.2
. . . . . . .

9,592 100
4 .
2,398 ......
25 ......

8,306 ......

21.6 ......


3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

219 3,9
507 9.2
214 3.9
13 0,2



1,682 30.5
100 1.8
7 0.1


23 0.4o

2,730 49.5
23 0.5
2 ......

5,526 100
6 ......
921 .....
14.4 ......

4,573 ......

11 ......


Lake Howard
Polk County
512 Acres


RSa
No


Po
T

1
4
6
2


12
1




8



37



22


9.5-10.5
lid and Mud
v.-Dec. 1949
760

3 inches

Per-
unds cent-
aken age

,918 5.1
,440 11.8
,160 16.4
,235 6.1



,853 3.1.2
.222 3.3
177 0.5


59 0.2'
15 .
.150 21.7
128 0.3
142 0.4

,559 100
9 ......
,173 ... .
73,4 ......

,746 .. ..

44 ......


9-12
Sand and Mud
Dec. 6-22, 1950
735

3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

1,562 10.8
2,003 14.0
1,261 .8
117 0.8


4,407 30.6
114 0.8
151 1.1

983 0.5
9 0.1
4,585 31.8
18 0.1
83 0.6

4,399 100
8
1,800 .....
28.1 ....

9,450 .. .

18 .. .


Lake Holli
Polk C
366 a


5.5-7.5
Mud and Sand
Nov. 15-18, 19431
760

3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age


232 1.4


53
9
16,650


16,987
4
4,247
.6.4

16,944

46.3


Lake Shipp
Polk
250 acres


11
Sand and Mud
Dec. 11. 1950
735

3 inches


ngsworth Lake Bonny
county Polk
cres 378 acres


7.5-8 8-9
Sand Sand and Mud
June22-29, 1950 Nov. 8-14. 1943
720 700

3 inches 3 inches

Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Taken age Taken age

20 0.1 1,095 10.1
315 0.7 1,775 16.6
1,075 2.4 1,580 14.7
70 0.2 835 8.1


....... .... 71 0 .7
... . ...... 5 38 5.5
4,370 9.6


341 97 1 0.9
99 i I 11 0.1
38,837 S9.O | 4,623 13.2
... ... . 0 .1
. . . .. . . .

45,127 100 10,707 103
6 .... 4 .
7,521 2,687 ....
123 ... 2 .

43,647 ...... 5,402 .

119 . 14 .


Lake Deeson
Polk
183 acres


10
Sand
May 15-16, 1950
750

3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
,Taken age

79 6.4

8 0.6
8 0.6









1,150 92.4



1.245 100
.. ..... ......










622....... .
1,15....... ......




. . .
2 .




6 ......


Lake May
Polk
38 acres



Mud
Dec. 14-18, 1950
735

3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

305 3,0
1,242 12.1
603 5.9
29 0.3


838 9.3
35 0.3
2 .....
2 .... ..


605 5.8
6,603 64.1
25 0.2
2 ......

10,303 103
2 ......
5,151 ......
271 ......

8,121 ......

213 ......


L. Wenhyakapka
Polk
7,623 acres


4-10
Hard Said
Jan. 21-28,1948
830

3 inches

Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

183 13.2
149 10.3
101 7.5
149 11.0



- 372 27.5



131 9.7
7 0.5
275 20.3



1,355 100
11 ..
123 ....
.18 .

785 .

.10


Pounds
Taken

850
150
1,500
303



2706'
6
11


65
9
1,830
25
1

14,987
1

20)

2,187

8.7


..








LAKE DEESON
Lake Deeson, a small lake of approximately 183 acres located
in the city of Lakeland in Polk Conty, was surveyed in May 1950.
Because of its small size, it was possible to completely cover Lake
Deeson with two hauls of the control seine and it is felt that a
representative sample of the adult fish population was obtained.
Lake Deeson had an extremely low population of game fish, not
quite 8 percent, but was heavily populated by gizzard shad. Blue-
gill and shellcracker together amounted to only slightly over 1
percent of the total, the shad comprising over 92 percent. Checks
with a small-mesh seine indicated that there had been some slight
reproduction in bass but no recently spawned bream were found.
Additional control efforts are necessary to restore good fishing in
Lake Deeson. It is anticipated that further operations will occur
in the spring of 1951. Complete data on composition of adult fish
populations as determined by haul seine surveys may be found in
Table 8.
LAKE HOLLINGSWORTH
Lake Hollingsworth, another City of Lakeland lake of approxi-
mately 366 acres, was surveyed in November of 1949 and June
of 1950. As this is another relatively small lake, it is felt that survey
operations obtained a fairly representative sample of the adult
fish populations. During the 1949 operations game fish were found
to be almost non-existent, comprising less than 1 percent of the
total population, 98 percent being composed of gizzard shad. Only
two largemouth bass were taken, each weighing over 5 pounds,
obviously an undesirable situation. After removing almost 17,000
pounds of rough fish, or 46.3 pounds per acre, it was decided to
return at a later date to Lake Hollingsworth to see whether that
removal had been sufficient to enable game fishes to increase in
production. On the return of the crew to this lake in June 1950,
it was found that game fish stocks had increased slightly, but that
the increase was insignificant. Gizzard shad had decreased some-
what to 86 percent but an increase was noted in the population of
catfish. No reproduction was found in bass or bluegill, although
the relief occasioned by the removal of gizzard shad in 1949 had
apparently been sufficient to allow them to spawn heavily, as
young shad were extremely abundant. Almost 44,000 pounds of
rough fish, or 119.3 pounds per acre, were removed during the
second period, and future operations will be conducted to deter-
mine whether this additional removal will result in increased game









fish production and successful reproduction by the few bass and
bream found. Complete data on composition of adult fish popula-
tions for the two study periods may be found in Table 8.

LAKE BONNY
Lake Bonny, another small lake located in the City of Lakeland
in Polk County, was checked during November, 1949. A fairly good
population of game fish (50 percent) was found and the game fish
were in fairly good condition. Bass were comparatively plentiful
and a number of all sizes was found. Gizzard shad composed 43
percent of the rough fish taken. Future operations are planned for
Lake Bonny. Complete listing of the adult populations as deter-
mined by haul seine survey may be found in Table 8.

LAKE HARTRIDGE
Lake Hartridge, a 384 acre lake located in the City of Winter
Haven received attention in November and December of 1949 and
November and December of 1950. The 1949 operations indicated a
fairly low population of game fish (14 percent). Catfish were the
major species (73 percent), while gizzard shad were also numerous
(14 percent). Eight thousand, three hundred six pounds of rough
fish, or 21.6 pounds per acre were removed in 1949. A slight increase
in game fish to 17 percent was found in 1950, along with consider-
able decrease of catfish (30 percent). However, a considerable
increase in the volume of gizzard shad was found. No definite
conclusions can be made from this work, but future operations
are planned. A complete listing of the composition of adult fish
populations as determined by haul seine survey may be found in
Table 8.

LAKE HOWARD
Lake Howard, a popular fishing lake in the City of Winter Haven
of approximately 512 acres in area, received attention in November
and December of 1949 and in December of 1950. The 1949 opera-
tions indicated a fish population composed of 40 percent game fish,
dominateQ by bluegill (16 percent). Catfish (38 percent) were the
dominant rough fish, followed by gizzard shad (22 percent). A
healthy bass population containing many large individuals was
noted. The 1950 operations indicated a game fish population of ap-
proximately 53 percent, a catfish population which remained about
the same (39 percent) and a decline in the gizzard shad to 6 per-
cent.








Lake Howard had received previous attention from rough fish
control operations. In about 1945 it was seined and many tons
of gizzard shad and catfish removed. At that time no successful
natural reproduction of bass was reported in Lake Howard. How-
ever, within two years after the early first removal of quantities
of rough fish, natural reproduction of bass was noted, presumably
due to the relief brought about by the removal of the gizzard shad.
Although records are not available for the early seining period, it
is believed that Lake Howard has shown steady improvement since
seining operations started. Future work will determine this more
definitely. Composition of adult fish populations as determined by
haul seine survey for the two separate periods may be found in
Table 8.
LAKE WEOHYAKAPKA (WALK-IN-THE-WATER)
Survey operations were conducted in Lake Weohyakapka, a
7,629 acre lake in Polk County, in January 1948. Although a fairly
good proportion of game fish was found (42 percent), with the
bass dominating (13.2 percent), the total productivity was found
to be low, the average haul taking only 123 pounds of all fish.
Channel catfish were the major rough fish (27.5 percent), followed
by gizzard shad (20.3 percent) and gar (9.7 percent). Due to the
low take of rough fish (0.1 pounds per acre), it is not felt that oper-
ations were effective in controlling rough fish. Future operations
are planned for Lake Weohyakapka. Complete data obtained during
this survey is recorded in Table 8.
LAKE SHIPP
Lake Shipp, a 250 acre lake in the City of Lakeland was surveyed
once in December 1950. It was possible only to spend one day in
this lake and the high game fish population indicated by the one
haul made appeared to make extensive rough fish control unneces-
sary. However, Lake Shipp will be checked again in future years
to watch for any changes in its population structure. Complete
data on the fish taken by haul seine in Lake Shipp may be found
in Table 8.
LAKE MAY
Lake May, a 38 acre lake in the City of Winter Haven was seined
in December 1950. As Lake May is also a small lake easily covered
by seine it is felt that a representative sample of the adult fish
population was obtained. A low population of game fish (21 percent)
was found, dominated by the black crappie. Gizzard shad (64 per-
cent) was the dominant rough fish. It will be interesting to see









whether the removal of 8,124 pounds of rough fish, or 213 pounds
per acre, will result in an improved status of the game fish, al-
though the free movement of fish possible through connection with
Lake Howard and other lakes may complicate findings during
future operations. Complete data on composition of adult fish
populations as determined by haul seine survey may be found in
Table 8.
LAKE LOUISA
Lake Louisa is a 3,200 acre lake located near Clermont in Lake
County. Operations were conducted in this lake in January and
February of 1950. Extreme difficulty was encountered in operating
the seine in Lake Louisa because a considerable area of the lake
was too deep to net successfully with the gear used. The work done,
however, indicated a fair standing population of fish. Game fish
comprised only about 20 percent of the total weight of fish taken
while catfish accounted for almost 78 percent. Additional rough fish
control operations are needed in Lake Louisa, but it is doubtful
whether seining of this lake would be economical. Other methods
of reducing the catfish population, such as wire traps or pound
nets are suggested as a means of accomplishing this. If local sports-
men are favorable to the suggestion, it is felt that this can be ac-
complished in cooperation with local commercial fishermen. A
complete listing of the adult fish population as determined by
haul seine surveys may be found in Table 5.
JOHNS LAKE
Johns Lake is a popular fishing lake located near Winter Garden
in Orange County with a surface area of approximately 2,714 acres.
Water hyacinths had interfered with fishing success in Johns Lake
until their eradication by local interests in late 1949. The survey
unit operated in this lake in November and December of 1950 and
was able to obtain what is felt to be a fairly representative sample
of the adult fish population. Johns Lake was found to be low in
game fish (16 percent) while catfish made up almost 63 percent
of the total. Gizzard shad were also plentiful (17 percent). Only
large bass were taken and although these were in fairly good con-
dition, the absence of any small bass corresponding to fingerlings
and one-year old fish suggests that natural reproduction had been
unsuccessful during the last two years. Johns Lake needs consider-
able attention before it can be restored as a good fishing lake. Heavy
stocking with bass fingerlings is planned for early 1951 to be fol-
lowed by further control operations. Complete data on composition








of adult fish populations as determined by haul seine survey may
be found in Table 5.
LAKE COUNTY
In addition to the work performed in Lake County by the State
operated control units, some rough fish control operations were
conducted in five large Lake County lakes (Beauclair, Dora, Eustis,.
Harris, and Griffin) in 1948 and as the results of them were not pre-
viously reported on, they are included here. The work in these
lakes was done by commercial fishing crews working under con-
tract, the major purpose of the operations being to capture black
bass used in the tagging experiment. As only a relatively few hauls
were made in each of these lakes and the populations of game fish
seemed very high, it is possible only to draw general conclusions
from the work conducted, as representative samples of the adult
fish populations were obtained only from Lake Harris. Compara-
tively speaking, however, Lakes Beauclair, Eustis and Harris ap-
peared highest in productivity, while Lakes Dora and Griffin were
fair. Plans should be made, however, for occasional control work
to be done in all of these lakes and to keep check on the changes
in the status of the game fishes. Complete data obtained during
these surveys is recorded in Table 9.
REX BEACH LAKE
A brief survey was made by the Rough Fish Control Unit in Rex
Beach Lake, a 2,995 acre lake located in the City of Sebring in
Highlands County at the request of local officials and sportsmen's
organizations. Rex Beach Lake was found to be in exceptionally
good balance, there being successful reproduction and a desirable
variety of sizes in all game fishes. It did not appear to be supporting
a significantly high population of rough fish as only a few pounds
of chub sucker (6.5 percent) were taken in the three hauls made.
However, a low standing population of fish was indicated by the
average haul of only 209 pounds. This condition can be improved
only by increasing the basic productivity of Rex Beach Lake by
fertilization. Extensive rough fish control operation did not appear
justified at this time. Complete data obtained during the operations
may be found in Table 10.
LAKE JOSEPHINE
Lake Josephine, a 1,280 acre lake located south of Sebring, also
received attention. Operations were considerably handicapped by
the presence of water hyacinths, but it is felt that a fairly reliable
picture of the adult population was obtained. Further control work









Table 9.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS DETERMINED
BY HAUL SEINE SURVEYS IN FIVE LAKES IN LAKE COUNTY

Name of Waters.................. .... ake Beanclair Lake Beauelair Lake Dora Lake Dora Lake Eustis Lake Eustis Lake Harris Lake Harris Lake Griffin Lake Griffin
County ...... ............ ....... Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake Lake
Approximate Area (acres) ............. ..... 1408 1408 4608 4608 7,232 7,232 17,984 17,984 9,920 9,920
Average Depths Surveyed (feet).......... 11-12 9-11 10-15 9-14 8-15 8-11 7-14 10-11 13-14 10-!5
Bottom Type ........................ Hard Sand Hard Sand Mud and Sand Sand and Mud Mud and Sand Mud and Sand Mud and Sand Sand and Mud Mud and Sand Mud and Sand
Date of Survey ..................... Jan.-Mar. 1948 August, 1948 Jan.-Feb. 1948 August, 1948 Jan.-Mar. 1948 August, 1948 Jan.-Mar. 1948 August 1948 February, 1948 Aug.-Sept. 1948
Length of Seines (yards)....... ....... 100 1500 1000 1500 1000 1500 1000 1500 1000 1500
Minimum Mesh (stretched).............. 21/ inches 3 inches 22 inches 3 inches 21 inches 3 inches 2' inches 3 inches 2V inches 3 inches
Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age
Largemnouth Bass ..................... 1,028 6.0 2,240 7.3 122 3.2 115 5.1 1,011 1.2 541 3.1 6,653 3.2 219 8 1 202 5.2 230 10.3
Black Crappie ....................... 1,625 9.5 2,875 9.4 225 5.8 28 1.3 2,430 2.8 337 1.7 18,955 9.5 95 3.5 580 15,.0 175 7.8
Bluegill............................ 2,400 14.1 6,625 21.6 1,130 29.3 268 11.9 50,105 58.0 5,404 30.5 38,315 19.1 25 0.9 1,677 43.4 660 29.5
She'leracker........................ 4,30J 25.2 18,000 58.6 1,175 30.4 1,453 64.8 21,000 24.3 7,834 44.6 91,000 45.5 380 14.1 1,000 25.9 265 11.8
Redbreast..... ................ ........ ...... ........ ...... ........ ...... ........ ...... 25 0.1 119 0.7 ............. ........ ...... .................... ......
d M miscellaneous Sunfish ................ ....... ...... ........ ...... ....... ...... ........ ...... . ....... ..... ........ ... . ........ .. ... 5 0.2 .... ... ....................
0 Chain Pickerel................................ ....... ......... ...... .. ......... ...... ....... ...... .. ......... .
Channel Catfish ...................... ........ ...... ........ ..... ........ .. ... ...... ..... ........ ........ 93 ..... .. ...... ........ ...... 42 1.9
W white Catfish ............. ... ...... 5 ...... ..................... 93 4.2 ........ ... 105 0.6 ........ ..... 78 2 9 .. ..... .......
Speckled Bullhead .................... 174 1.0 137 0.5 1 45 1.2 5 0.2 1 1,415 1.6 28 0.1 ........ .. .. ........ ...... 1 70 1.8 3 0.1
Yellow Bullhead ............................. ...... ........ .... .. ......................... .. ...................... ........ ........... ...... ..............
Longnose Gar ..................... 3,160 18.6 421 1,4 2 1,048 27.1 275 12.3 2 3,680 4.2 1,124 6.4 215,018 7.5 789 29.3 259 6.7 265 11.8
Other Gar.... ...................... .. . ...... 97 0.3 ...... ... 1 ...... ........ ...... 6 5 0.2 12 0.3 50 2.2
M udfish ........................ ..... ........... 36 0.1 4 0.1 ... .... .. ...... ..... 3 .. . 3 0.1
Gizzard Shad ........................ 4,308 25.3 215 0.7 107 2.8 5 0.2 6,518 7.6 2,076 II .; '.. I )94 40.7 35 0.9 552 24.8
ChubSucker ........................ .. 44 0.3 70 0.2 4 0.1 1 ...... 18 0.2 36 0.2 350 0.6 1 0.1 27 0.7 ..............
Golden Shiner ........................ .............. ..................... ....... ...... ........ ...........................................................................
Miscellaneous Freshwater Species ....... ........ ... .... ....... ....... .... ........ ........... ........... ...... ......... . . .. ........... ...... .. .. ....
Predatory Turtles.. ................. .............. 75 .. ....... .. ................... ........... .. ..... .. 39 ...... .... . ... 20 .
Non-Predatory Turtles....... 1,828 ...... 425 ... 240 ...... 770 .. ............ ...... 290 . 20 ...... 60 ...... 30 ......
Total fish taken ....................... 17,039 100 30,721 100 3,860 100 2,244 100 86,202 100 17,714 100 199,449 100 2,691 100 3,865 100 2,242 100
N um ber of hauls... ................. 4 ...... 2 .... 2 ...... 3 ...... 10 ...... 5 ...... 27 ..... 2 ...... 4 ...... 2 .....
Average pounds per haul............ 4,235 ...... 15,361 ...... 1,930 ... 748 ...... 8,620 ...... 8,543 ...... 7,387 .... 1,346 ...... 918 ...... 1,121 ....
Pounds taken per acre................ 12.1 ...... 10.9 ...... 0.8 0.5 ...... 11.9 ...... 2,4 .... 11.1 0.2 .... 0.4 .
Pounds of rough fish removed .......... 7,686 ...... 981 ...... 1,208 380 ..... 11,631 .. 3,419 .... 44,526 1,967 ..... 406 ...... 912 ......
Pounds of rough fish removed per acre,.. 5.5 ...... 0.7 .. 0.3 ...... 0.1 ... 1.6 ...... 0.5 ...... 2.5 ...... 0.1 ...... 0.1 ...... i

1 All catfish grouped with most abundant species.
2 All garfish grouped with most abundant species.
i Insignificant figure.









is indicated for Lake Josephine, but should follow complete eradi-
cation of the water hyacinths. Basic productivity is fairly good as
indicated by the average haul of 644 pounds, and the condition of
game fishes was good. Complete data obtained during this survey
is recorded in Table 10.
LAKE ALICE
Lake Alice, a lake of approximately 20 acres located in Wewa-
hitchka in Gulf County, was seined in May 1950 at the request of
local sportsmen, who felt that rough fish control was needed. Game
fish composed 47 percent of the total taken, while rough fish, prin-
cipally chub suckers, made up 53 percent. It is hoped that the re-

Table 10.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATIONS AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVIPS IN TO
HIGHLANDS COUNTY LAKES

Name of Waters..... ....... .. ......... Rex leach Lake
Lake Josephine
County. ................................ Highlands Highlands
Approximate Area...................... ..... 2,995 acres 1,280 acres
Average Depth Surveyed (feet). ......... ...... 7-13 6-10
Bottom Type .. ..... .................. Sand and Mud M1ud and Sand
Date of Survey. .. ... ............... . Nov. 21-28, 195C Nov. 26-29, 1950
Length of Seine (yards) .. .................... 735 735
Minimum Mesh (stretched) ................. 3 inches 3 inches

Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Species Composition Takni age Taken age

Largemouth Bass.......................... 219 34.9 125 4.8
Black Crappie ....................... ..... .... ... . .. 983 38.2
Bluegill. ............. .............. 234 37.3 246 9.6
Shelleracker................................ 133 21 .3 5 .....
R ed breast .............................. .. . .
Miscellaneous Sunfish. . . . . . . . . . . 1
C hain P ickerel ......................... .......
Channel Catfish. .................. .... .. ............ 413 16.0
White Catfish ....... ................. ........ ... 5 0.2
Speckled Bullhead.......................................
Yellow Bullhead . .. .
Lolnglio e Gar. ............................. ... .... ... ........
Other Gar..................................... ...... 20 0.8
M ul dfish ....................... ... .............. 27 1.1
Gizzard Shad ............ . .............. ...... 707 27.5
Chub Sucker............ .. ... ......... 41 6.5 42 1.6
Golden Shiner.............................. ..... ...... 1
Total fish taken ........................ 627 100 2,575 100
Number of hauls ........................... .3 . 4.
Average pounds per hani. ...................... 209 ...... 644 .
Pounds taken per acre ........... .. ..... i ...... 2 ......
Pounds rough fish removed .. ................. 41 ...... 1,215
Pounds rough fish removed per acre. ............. i ...... 1

i-lnsignificant.










Table 11.
SPECIES COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATION AND OTHER
DATA AS DETERMINED BY HAUL SEINE SURVEY IN LAKE ALICE
GULF COUNTY, FLORIDA


C o u n ty ....... .. .... .. ... ... .. .... . .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..
Approxim ate Area ....................................
D a te ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A average D epth ........................................
B o tto m . .. .. ... ... .. .... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
L length of Seine .......................................
M inim um M esh .......................................

Species Composition

I argem outh B ass...................... .............
B lack C rappie .......................................
B lu egill ...... .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. . ..
Shellcracker.........................................
C channel C atfish ....................... ........... .
Speckled Bullhead ...................................
C hub Sucker .......................................
T otal fish taken .......................................
N um ber of hauls ......................................
Average pounds per haul...............................
Average pounds per acre...............................
Total rough fish taken ................................
Average pounds rough fish per acre .................... .


Gulf
20 acres
May 24-25, 1950
8 feet
Sand anid mud
300 yards
2/2 inches
Pounds Percentage
44 6.9
179 28.2
43 6.6
34 5.4
53 8.4
11 1.7
272 42.8

636 100
7
91
31.8
336
16.8


moval of 336 pounds of rough fish, or 16.8 pounds per acre, will
improve sport fishing. A complete record of fish taken may be
found in Table 11.
LAKE ELLA
Lake Ella, a 10.5 acre lake located in the City of Tallahassee, was
placed under management at the request of civic organizations and
the City of Tallahassee in the spring of 1949. The preliminary
analysis indicated that the heavy population of rough fishes was
interfering with best production of bass and bream. In April, Lake
Ella was first seined and 1,116 pounds of fish were removed, the
game fish being released in open waters of Leon County. Following
this seining, the remainder of the fish were poisoned and 10,500
fingerling bream were added in May followed by 1,050 fingerling
bass in July and the lake was closed to fishing. In June, 1950, an
additional 1,050 bass fingerlings were added after an analysis
revealed that the population tended toward over-crowding by
bream.
On July 7, 1950, Lake Ella was opened to fishing to children under
15 years of age. A contest sponsored by the local organizations was








conducted and more than 500 children participated. Almost every
child caught some fish, approximately 200 pounds being taken in
all. The catch revealed, however, that the poisoning job had not
been 100 percent complete, as warmouth and speckled bullhead
were taken, neither of which had been stocked following the
poisoning.


LAKE WIRE

Lake Wire, a 25 acre lake in the City of Lakeland, was placed
under management in early 1949 at the request of the City Com-
mission. Lake Wire presented a double problem in that an over-
population of bream was present and the entire lake was choked
by an aquatic weed known as Elodea. In cooperation with the City
Recreation Department, the first step in the management of Lake
Wire was the eradication of the heavy weed growth by an applica-
tion of sodium arsenite. Decay of the dense growth resulted in the
almost complete eradication of the fish population brought about
by the depletion of the dissolved oxygen supply. The remainder of
the fish were poisoned in June, the lake was restocked with bass
and bream, and a program of fertilization was undertaken by local
interests. On June 3, 1950, Lake Wire was opened to children under
15 years of age and a contest sponsored by local organizations was
conducted. A number of bass were taken, the largest weighing sev-
eral ounces over two pounds.


BLUE POND
At the request of Washington County civic organizations, Blue
Pond, located near Chipley, was placed under management in early
1950. As attempts to seine Blue Pond were unsuccessful, poison was
applied to eliminate the fish population. A total of approximately
955 pounds of fish were removed and examination indicated that
growth of game fish was poor, principally due to over-crowding.
One-year-old bass averaged only 7 inches in length and weighed 5
ounces. Two-year old bass averaged only 11 inches and weighed
only 10 to 12 ounces. Almost 450 bass less than 121/2 inches long
were recovered, and only 9 over that size were taken. The few
crappie taken were also stunted. Blue Pond was restocked in the
summer of 1950 and a program of fertilization started. It is planned
that fishing will be opened to the public on July 1, 1951.









LAKE TALQUIN
Lake Talquin is an artificial lake of approximately 11,500 acres
formed by the impoundment of the Ochlocknee River in Leon and
Gadsden Counties by the Florida Power Corporation in the 1920's.
In recent years the lake had become choked with water hyacinths
and local fishermen requested assistance in their control. An aerial
survey by the Fish Management Division in early 1950 indicated
there were approximately 3,000 acres of hyacinths. The Talquin
Hyacinth Eradication Association, a group of interested residents
of Leon and Gadsden County, was then formed, and a goal of
$10,000 set in a fund drive. This goal was reached in the fall of 1950,
and the project started. Initial plots were sprayed by airplane and
techniques worked out by Division personnel and the contracting
operator of the spraying planes.
These initial experiments determined that effective control could
be obtained with an application of 1.5 pounds of the acid equivalent
Dichloro-diphenyl-oxyacetic acid in two gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel
per acre. The entire area of hyacinths was then sprayed by air at this
rate between October 24 and November 16, 1950. Within a few days
after the initial application the plants withered, turned brown, and
close examination revealed that almost 90 percent of the mature
plants were killed. Inspection in late December revealed that the
greater part of the floating plants had sunk or were decaying. It is
planned that the operations will be repeated in 1951 to control any
plants not killed in the initial application, as well as seedlings
sprouted since that time.

Fisheries Surveys and Experimental Projects
Fisheries surveys have been conducted on several of Florida's
larger bodies of fresh water and are designed principally to obtain
basic information of the fish and fisheries of the waters involved.
As mentioned previously, the management of the fisheries to obtain
best sport fishing and maximum utilization of those resources
depends upon having a volume of adequate information concerning
present fish populations, their inter-relationships and the effect of
known factors upon their production, as well as detailed data on
the life history and specific habits of each species involved. It is
also necessary to know what effect interference by man has upon
these fish populations, and how best man can manipulate the
factors involved in order to result in the desired objectives.









As in the management of a large business, it is necessary to have
complete data on inventory and to keep account of the changes in
those basic stocks and the amount of the production that is being
used for best management. Florida, over the past several years, has
been pioneering in this field, and has attracted national attention
because of its aggressive attack on the many problems involved in
the management of its fresh-water fish. As in the case of modern
agriculture and forestry, perpetual inventory must be taken to
determine the status of the supplies, and continual research must be
conducted to determine how best those supplies can be increased
and made available for use by the State. It is known that the
production of fish in a given area of water, as the production of
agricultural crops from a given area of land, is limited. It is further
known that Florida anglers are using only a small percentage of the
available fish produced in most of its larger waters, and the research
program is designed not only to find methods of increasing the total
productivity of our waters, but also of the species which are desired
by the angler.

It has been determined by careful research and experimentation
that the productivity of fresh waters is more or less stable and can be
measured in pounds per surface acre. It is also known that all fish
in that given acre of water are dependent upon that same basic
food supply and are in severe competition with one another. For
instance, crappie (speckled perch) and garfish use the same types
of food which are eaten by the black bass, and as a result the
presence of the former species in considerable numbers has been
found to reduce the capacity of those waters to produce and support
bass. Where the black bass is the major fish desired by the angler,
as results of surveys have shown, it is necessary to find methods of
reducing the competing species in order that black bass production
will be enhanced.

The Fish Management Division is attempting to work out the
numbers and amounts and rates of removal of competing species
which will result in greatest increase and catch of bass, and at the
same time make best available use of those species removed to
make room for increased bass production. Results of the individual
surveys are discussed below by the areas concerned.









St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee
Fisheries Surveys
Detailed studies of the fish and fisheries of the St. Johns River
with particular emphasis in the Lake George area and of Lake
Okeechobee were initiated in 1948. Much valuable data on the fish
of those areas have been gathered and many of the basic statistics
concerning the dynamics and inter-relationships of the adult fish
populations have been compiled. The studies were undertaken
principally to try to solve some of the problems involved in the
commercial taking of certain species of fresh-water fish found
there, and to determine what methods could be used by the com-
mercial fishermen which would not harm the interests of the recrea-
tional fisherman, but might possibly enhance his chances for better
catches. Several detailed reports on the findings of this survey have
been made and recommendations for management based upon those
findings have been submitted to the Commission.
Major among these reports were "Report on Fisheries Investiga-
tions for the Year Ending June 30, 1949" and "A Report on Fisheries
Investigations of the St. Johns River and Lake Okeechobee, 1948-50,
With Recommendations For Management", which combined the
results of findings on both bodies of water. The major findings of
these surveys are briefly that the abundance of the fish populations
fluctuated considerably from season to season and during the
year, these fluctuations being attributed to "natural" factors rather
than by the direct interference by man. It could not be determined
during the two-year intensive study that commercial fishing opera-
tions were instrumental in causing any of the changes in the fish
populations, although by the same token no harm to recreational
fishing in those waters could be attributed to commercial fishing
operations. It was further found that the life span of the game
fishes in those waters was relatively short and growth rates ex-
tremely rapid. Natural mortality rates were found to be high and
use of available standing fish supplies by anglers was found to be
negligible. No evidence was found that total productivity of the
waters of black bass had decreased, although it was determined that
the yield of this species was being scattered among a greatly in-
creased army of recreational anglers. It was concluded that the
available production of bream and crappie in the Lake George and
Lake Okeechobee areas was largely being wasted and lost through
natural mortality, representing a huge economic loss to the state.






Nam e of W waters . .................. ..................................... ....... Lake George
o County .... .. ................... ....................................... Putnam, M arion, Volusia, Lake
SL Approximate Area. ........................................................... 735 sq.mi.-47.059 acres
Z Average Depth Surveyed ........................ ........................................... 3-12 feet
> Bottom Type. ........................................................................... Sand and mud
w Date of Survey............... July, 948 August, 1948 September, 1948 October, 194S Nov., 1948
w I i Length of Seine.. ......... 1200-1600 yds.
AMinimum Mesh (stretched).... 3 inches
3 Z Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
0- r Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
ow FA Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age

: t Largemouth Bass........... 1,6SS 19.1 3,083 9.2 9,070 4.7 13,233 3.3 7,549 2.7
Black Crappie ....... ..... 324 3.6 1,341 4.0 25,760 13.0 59,237 14.7 49,005 17.3
SB gill ....... ........ 1,195 13.5 3,928 11.7 14,940 7.5 16,798 4.2 10,853 3.8
Shellcracker............... 945 10.7 2,580 7.7 14,954 7.5 12,939 3.2 6,975 2.5
0 Redbreast ......... 90 1.0 45 0.1 301 0.2 186 0.1 241 0.1
M. > liscellaneousSunfish .. ........ ...... 2 ...... 11 ...... 77 ...... 3 .
Q Chain Pickerel..... ....... .. S 6
Channel Catfish............ 1919S 21.6 8,167 24.4 51,172 Ri 69,733 ..2 i61,349 21.6
White Catfish ............ 1,199 13.5 6,154 18.3 41,724 '. i SS,857 22.1 74,890 26.4
wc Speckled B,,llhead ......... 247 2.8 481 1.4 4,217 2.1 8,585 2.1 8,333 2.9
0 Yellow Bullhead........... ....1 ..... 1
,- LongnoseGar.............. 257 2.9 343 1.0 797 0.4 315 0.1 135
Other Gar ........... 6 0.1 19 0.1 23 ... 171 .. .86 .
: M udfish .............. ..... . . . 3 .... ..... .. ......
Gizzard Shad ............ 918 10.4 6,390 19.0 31,404 1" 71,664 17.8 59,642 21.0
[i F-4 Chub Sucker............... 19 0.2 5 .. 6 ..... 3 ...........
C; Golden Shiner...... ....... 12 0.1 77 0.2 95 0.1 44 ... 150 0.1
SMisc. Fresh Water Species... ...... ...... ........ ...... 3 . . 24 ......
Am erican Shad............. ....... ...... ........ .... ..... ... . 21 214 0.1
S Other Clupeids............. ...... .. 1,000 2.9 2,941 1.5 36,395. 9.0 3,60 1.3
t M ullet ............... 14 0.2 12 ...... 777 0.4 3,929 1.1 451 0.2
0 M isc. Salt Water Species.... 26 0.3 ........ ...... 74 ...... 236 0.1 144
Er Total fish taken ............ S,860 100 33,627 100 198,278 100 402,457 100 283,708 100
'. 1 Number of ha s... ........ 13 ..... 19 ..... 60 .. ... 97 81
.- .ds per haul ...... 81 ..... 1,770 ...... 3,304 ..... 4,149 ...... 3,502 . ..
..... I ri per a cre . .... . .. ...... .. ...... ... ........... .
Pounds roughfishremoved. 4,618 ...... 22,648 ......133,234 ...... 299,981 ..... 209,082 .
~ Pounds rough fish removed per
S a cre . ........ ......... ... ... ... .. .... . ... .



U Name of Waters ........................................................... ...... Lake Okeechobee
*4 County. ....... ........................................... Okeechobee, Glades, Hendry, Palm Beach
Approximate Area .. ....................................................... 703 sq.mi.-450,357 acres
j > Average Depth Surveyed .......................................................... ........ 3-12- feet
4 Bottom Type................................. ................... .................... Sand and mud
w- M Date of Survey............. Jlv, 1948 August, 1948 Sept., 1948 October, 1948 Nove., 1948
S M u Length of Seine ....... ....1200-'1600 yds.
01 Minimum Mesh (stretched) ... 2$ inches

Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
SS Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
P Species Composition Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age
S ~- ,,.: .. ili Bass........... 13,215 22.1 15,323 14.5 25,044 13.1 17,178 8.4 16,294 8.1
S I.. pie ............. 1,084 1.8 2,719 2.6 12,323 6.4 47,750 23.5 52,013 25.S
S0 I I ............ 14,192 23.7 12,495 11.9 17,286 9.0 13,980 6.9 4,178 2.1
!., ............. 16,988 28.4 27,352 26.0 33,149 17.3 15,931 7.8 17,975 8.9
> U R edbreast ........ ... .. .. ... . .. . .. ... .. ...... ... . .. .. ... ...
- M Miscellaneous Sunfish ...... ....... ............................
1 Chain Pickerel ........... 13 . 114 0.1 41 ...... 13 ...... 14 .
31 ~O Channel Catfish............ 6,304 10.5 17,918 17.0 37,293 19.6 50,070 24.6 55,775 27.7
15 0 \ White Catfish. ............ 4,570 7.6 625 0.6 4,593 2.4 32,037 15.7 9,425 4.7
z 0 Speckled Bullhead.......... 1,589 2.7 9,78S 9.3 21,070 11.0 513 0.3 1,216 0.6
Yellow Bullhead............ 2 ...... ... . ... ... ... ..... ... 149 0.1
Longuose Gar............... ... .. 6 .... 47 ...... 122 0.1 9 .....
Other Gar... ............. 260 0.4 1,285 1.2 4,031 2.1 6,791 3.3 5,496 2.7
... ..... ..... 63 0.1 409 0.4 432 0.2 169 0.1 59
co .. 1 .... ........ 1,020 1.7 12,992 12.3 12,308 6.4 17,627 8.7 38,419 19.1
14 Chub Sucker ............... 560 0.9 4,325 4.1 23,534 12.3 35 ...... .. .. ......
.... ..... ........ .. .. 2 ...... 10 .... 13 ... . 11 .....
..1.. ., Species... ........ ... .............. ........ ...... ........ ..... ..............
S A m erican Shad ............. ........ . ...... ....... ............. ...... ..... .......... .. ........ ....... .
Other Clupeids..................... ...................... ............ .....................
L M ullet . ........ . .... . 21 ...... 43 ...... 420 0.2 72 .
Misc. Salt Water Species.... 47 0.1 ........ ...... 342 0.2 983 0.4 399 0.2
Total fish taken.............. 59,907 100 105,374 100 191,546 100 203,632 100 201,504 100
Number of hauls............. 15 ...... 33 ..... 72 ...... 64 ...... 89 .....
Average pounds per haul...... 3,994 ...... 3,193 ...... 2,660 ...... 3,182 ...... 2,264 .....
Pounds taken per acre .................. ................... ........ ...... .........
Pounds rough fish removed.... 14,415 .... 47,371 ...... 103,703 ...... 10S,70 ...... 111,030 .....
Pounds rough fish removed per
acre............................... ...... ... ... .. .... ....................... ...... ........ ......



76






Table 12 (Continued)


Dec., 1948 II January, 1949 1 February, 194911 March, 1949 April, 1949


Pounds
Taken

4,012
38,659
7,969
9,568
101
3

26,206
34,816
8,568


16
8
35,277
3
102
5
491
10
65
816


Pounds
Taken

5,620
44,380
20,045
13,423
98
5

32,616
44,541
11,241
7
33
20
21
39,619
4
84
14
2,316
6,035
10
644


166,697 100 220,776
61 ...... 74
2,732 ..... 2,983


106,369


137,203


Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

7,241 5.1
26,207 18.6
20,119 14.2
5,687 4.0
305 0.2
4 ....
9 .....
21,592 15.2
36,047 25.5
9,993 7.0

80 0.1
48 ......
9 ...
12,929 9.1
2 ....
34 ......
34 ......
904 0.6
122 0.1
59 ......
488 0.3

141,913 100
67 ......
2,118 ......


Pounds
Taken

9,186
27,276
22,712
7,935
353
6
2
18,256
30,135
7,097
229
38
2
25,901
3
55
46
659
322
51
1,019

151,309
S4
1,901


Per-
cent-
age

6.1
18.1
15.1
5.2
0.2


Pounds
Taken

7,523
10,406
8,146
7,250
77
1

12,423'
13,762
2,486

331
54
4
14,047
1
32
27
687
281
52
435


May, 1949 June, 1949


Pounds
Taken

11,471
10,409
11,604
6,751
91


25,343
25 S9
1,180

229
40
9
15,558
2
33
5
28
920
153
31 6f


Pounds
Taken

2,819
5,217
3,944
2,525
443
2

19,939
8,202
944

148
9
6
12,032

23


567
89
'S.6


100 78,025 100 109,891 100 57,095 100
... 66 93 ... 48 ..
...... 1,182 ...... 1,181 ...... 1,189 ....


69,565 42,149


Table 13 (Continued)






December, 1948 January, 1949 February, 1949 March, 1949 April, 1949 May, 1949 June, 1949


Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age

14,798 7.8 7,161 5.5 24,735 6.4 29,897 7.3 22,516 7.2 38,877 18.2 17,756 8.1
42,166 22.3 3S,372 29.3 96,212 25.0 74,467 18.1 35,098 11.3 10,554 4.9 5,719 2.6
4,958 2.6 2,793 2.1 20,903 5.4 51,574 12.6 59,696 19.2 44,674 20.9 49,502 22.1
16,416 8.7 6,712 5.1 29,191 7.6 28,690 7.0 38,446 12.5 18,460 8.7 26,585 12.1
..... .... .......... .......2 .... 14 14 ...' .14 .. 1 ... ... 1 .'.

2 ..... 5 26 91 170 0.1 165 0.1 66
31,115 16.4 25,043 19.1 53,960 14.0 53,463 13.0 21,193 6.8 13,788 6.5 31,205 14.3
16,581 8.8 20,106 15.4 26,381 6.9 43,125 10.5 17,278 5.6 5,958 2.8 6,814 3.1
1,325 0.7 258 0.2 9,389 2.5 23,900 5.8 39,519 12.7 37,159 1S.3 34,2S1 15.7
1 .. ... .. 22
50 .. . 112 0.1 23 .... 441 0.1 70 ...... .. .. 120 0.1
5,479 2.9 4,078 3.1 12,817 3.3 17,4RS 4.3 11,595 3.7 5,127 2.4 4,247 1.9
55 .. .. 129 0.1 2,042 0.5 10,794 2.7 7,761 2.5 8,914 4.2 4,595 2.1
55,706 29.4 25,925 19.8 108,346 28.1 69,732 17.2 42,552 13.7 11,816 5.5 16,629 7.6
608 0.3 2 ...... 903 0.2 5,923 1.4 14,351 4.6 15,175 7.1 22,592 10.3
8 .. . 13 ...... 124 0 .1 11 .......... ...... .. . .....


37 0.1 3 ... .. 14 ...... I .... 41 .. 22 . 41 6 ......
65 ...... 218 0.2 29 .... 63 ...... 217 0.1 793 0.4 18 ... .

189,370 100 130,931 100 385,097 100 409,736 100 310,804 100 213,502 100 219,136 100
69 ..... 43 ...... 98 ...... 105 ...... 7 ...... 53 .... 4S ......
2,744 ...... 3,045 ..... 3,930 .... 3,902 ...... 3,985 ...... 4,028 ...... 4,565 ....

111,029 ...... 75,888 ...... 214,028 ...... 225,003 ...... 154,564 .. ... 100,771 . .... 120,507 . ...






Table 12 (Continued)


TOTAL July, 1949 August, 1949 Sept., 1949


Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds
Taken age Taki(

S2,495 4.5 8,049
29S,221 16.1 23,397
142,253 7.7 26,640
91,532 4.9 23,923
2,331 0.1 104
114 .
25 .
36S,754 10.9 91,994
406,216 21.9 112,177
63,372 3.4 7,923
9 4
2,899 0.2 166
530 . 10
88
325,3S1 17.7 52,824
4S .
741 6 6
166 11
5,320 0.3
52,273 2., 24,026S
5,662 0.3 385
4,206 0.2 504

1,852,636 ".
763 .
2,428 . I .
39.4
1,235,665 .*" I .'

2.63 .


Per-
cent- Pounds
age i Taken

2.2 8,715
6.3 52.378
7.1 44,151
6.4 23,056
. 164
[I


24.68
30.2
2.1


Per-
cent- Pounds
age Taken

2.6 18,428
15.8 54,518
13.3 52,090
6.9 18,581
0.1 764
S . I


75,832 22.9 62,32 20.3
57,913 17.4 39,501 12.8
5.,118 1.5 1,830 0.6

76i 0.2 2,0S9 0.7
86 ... 101 ......

50,030 15.i 52,773 17.2'
. .. . .
67 .. 136
3 .. 3 ..

13,310 4.i 3,501 l .1
164 0.1 805 0.3
330 0.1 419 0.1
v? n-" 100 307,876 100
l. 145
2,123 .

203,614 63,494 .....

. . . . . .


October, 1949


Pounds
Taken

17,820
57,316
26,565
13,912
1,048


35,965
12.505
1,600

340
266
9
52,751

i49
19
6
15,736
675
2,669


6.5
0.3
1.1


239,351 100
14q
1,617

122,690 ..
.. ..... .


Nov., 1949 December, 1949


Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Taken age Taken age

9,143 3.0 12,158 6.3
120,569 40.3 68,900 35.4
26,592 8.9 19,017 9.8
18,338 6.1 12,446 6.5
245 0.1 137 0.1
3 ..... 3

41,823 14. I30,01 4 151.5
33,205 11.1 29,638 15.2
2,045 0.7 3,011 1.5
2 1
559 0.2 86 0.1
7 1 .... 9 ......
25 45
40,290 13.4 14,973 7.7
6 1 .
176 0.1 46
14 3S .
446 0.1 719 0.4
5,376 1.8 2,687 1.4
361 0.1 60 .
495 0.1 40S 0.1

099,784 100 194,547 100
119 SS
2,519 .. 2,210

124,894 '.


Table 13 (Continued)


TOTAL -I July, 1949 II Auust. 1949


Per- I
Pounds cent- Pounds
Taken age Taken


242,794
418,477
295,231
276,195
33
720
397,127
1S7,493
182,097
174
1,000
78,694
35,423
413,072
88,008
192
6

3720
3,174


10,660
10 674
21,821
12,819


35,678
6,731
69,016

29
3,029
1,763
4,087
5,394




24


Pounds
Taken

16,201
11,903
9,982
10,220


26,855

45,12

50
3,930
2,384
6,062
4,396
6


13
32


Sept., 1949


Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

10,462 8.4
20,485 16.4
3,548 2.8
5,174 4.2


43,560 35.0
7,357 5.9
7,687 0.2
70 0.1
5,856 4.7
664 0.5
19,356 15.5
2S4 0.2



. 94 ..
194 0.1


October, 1949 !1 Nov., 1949 Dec., 1949


Pounds
Taken

9,138
44,715
2,775
6,225


56,468
11,684
571
16
7,553
340
27,490
62



7
7


Pounds
Taken

6,782
01,227
8,977
6,121


45,610
9,793
2,050
20
8,633
359
27,361




21
58


Pounds
Taken

3,541
38,414
2,053
1,484


27,873
13,973
584


7,578
425
22,738




3
78


2620,539 100 !181,725 100 137,221 100 124,700 100 167,051 100 177,018 100 118.744 100
767 ...... 55 ... 92 . 75 ...... 95 ...... 60 ...... 45 .....
3,416 .... 3,304 .. 1,491 .. 1,663 .... 1,758 ..... 2,950 ...... 2,639 .
5 8 . . . .
1,387,0890 .. 85 ,910 . 85 ,03 1 .. .... 104 ,198 I ..... 73 ,252 .....


Table 13 (Continued)







Table 12 (Continued)


Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken ge

13,020 6.9
55,643 29.7
25,885 13.8
14,512 7.7
161 0.1
3 .

1 ,096' 9.7
14,297 7.6
3,506 1.9

113 0.1
77 .
18 . .
36,713 19.6

71
41
1,P27 0.9
1,492 0.8
75 .. .
2,544 1.2

187,897 103
110 ....
1,708 .6 .

78,673 .... .


Per- I i Per-
cent- Pounds cent-
age Taken age


Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds
Taken age Taken age Taken

8,293 12.3 10,106 12.4 6,261
11,641 17.4 16,316 19.3 8.232
11,737 17.5 16,162 19.3 14,551
4,369 6.5 5,2.q6 6.3 2,918
106 0.1 235 0.3 68
1 . 3
4 2 3
8,551 12.7 11,725 14.0 3,307
7,477 11.1 7,739 9.2 3.630
1,621 2.4 1,318 1.6 287

19 0 0.1 63
28 35 .. 30
7 ... 6 5
9,695 14.4 9,585 11.4 4,399
1 2 33
283 0.4 63 0.1 30
6 37 ... 4
243 0.4 604 0.7 2S7
44S 0.7 504 0.6 11
108 0.2 33 .. 58
2,629 3.9 4,017 4.7 561

67,267 100 83.89S 100 44,738
46 4S ...... 31
1.462 1,747 1,443

31,116. . 35,78S ...... 12,705

........ ...... ........ ...... .......


Pounds
Taken

6,321
5,732
5,942
2,401
217


7.658
9,928
602

205
38

35,840

42


3
149
320

75,563

1,007

54,870


Per- Per-
cent- Pounds cent-
age I Taken age

S.4 I 5.8
7.6 "- ,. 20.9
7.9 .*i i 12.5
3.3 144,7S6 6.2
0.3 3,415 0.1
15
9 ..
10.1 j' 44J 17.2
13.1 i 15.1
0.9 1.3
. . .
0.4 5,117 0.2
. .. 791
134
47.4 391,712 16.7
61
1,146 0.1
S 176
..... 3,961 '0.2
67,016 2.9
0.2 3,131 0.1
0.4 15,277 0.7

10;) 2,332,372 ......
1,109 ....
.... 2,103
49 .6


.. 26 9


Table 13 (Continued)


January, 1950 j February, 1950 March, 1950


Pounds
Taken

6,292
30,94S
1,104
1,559


35,446
8,477
9,240

12
6,627
1,061
23,435




12
11

124,224
62
2,004

84,321


Pounds cent-
Taken age

4.651 6.1
17,6W0 23.4
1,673 2.2
972 1.3



24,094 31.7
4,227 5.6
9,375 12.3

11
3,937 5.2
1,779 2.3
7,493 9.9

35 ..


. 3.. . . .. .
33 .....

75,968 100
55 .
1,381 .

50,992 ......


Pe
Pounds cei
Taken ag

7,393 8
16,5s3 19
3,675 4
1,781 2


4
18,450 22
3,345 4
15,3S3 18
9. 5 0
4,85S 5
2,261 2
9,496 11
457 0
1 .

1 ...

3 ...


83,786 11
70 ...
1,197 ..

54,350 ...


April, 1950



Per-
Pounds ceut-
Taken age

6,934 10.6
9,244 14.1
4,812 7.4
1,747 2.7

2
1,404 2.1
1,325 2.0
25.234 38.5

52 0.1
5,123 7.8
2,013 3.1
6,887 10.5
571 0.9
66 0.1
2 . .


2 .. .
103 0.1

65,521 100
52 ... .
1,260 ... .

42,782 ...... ..


May, 1950 June, 1950 TOTAL


Per- Per- Per-
Pounds ceie- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Taken age Taken age Taken age

2,556 8.6 3.290 6.5 I S7,900 6.5
2,312 7.9 5.506 10.9 1269,691 20.2
3,237 11.1 4,979 9.8 6 6S,636 5.1
1,193 4.1 3,820 7.5 53,115 4.0


15 0.1 6 32 ..
345 1.2 88 0.2 315,877 23.6
4,151 14.2 1,532 3.0 72,595 5.4
11,761 40.3 23,412 46.3 219,495 16.5

3 358 0.1
1,266 4.4 651 1.3 59,041 4.4
998 3.4 2,512 5.0 16,559 1.2
996 3.4 3,765 7.4 159,166 11.9
355 1.2 1,072 2.1 12,596 0.9
...... .... 4 112 0.1
... . . . 3 ...

. .. . . ... .. 67 ::
23 0.1 ...... 563 0.1

29,208 100 50,640 100 1,335,t06 100
25 33 . .... 719 ......
1,168 ... 1,535 ... 1,857 ......
3.0 ......
19,895 5 .....6,432

.... 1.9 .


14.0 18,034 14.2
18.5 12,394 9.7
32.6 21,554 17.0
6.5 4,964 3.9
0.2 166 0.1


7.4 12,997 10.2
8.1 23,036 IS.2
0.6 845 0.7
.5 .
0.1 5q6 0.5
0.1 40
14
9.8 31,839 25.1
0.1
0.1 15

0.6 29 ..

0.1 .25S 0.2
1.2 381 0.2

100 127,157 100
1 84
1,513

... 70,045 .....

. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .


Table 13 (Continued)






Table 12 (Continued)


July, 1950 August, 1950 Sept., 1950 October, 11150


Per- Per- Per- Per-
Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent-
Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken age

3,101 2.6 10,300 3.5 1,437 2.7 1,579 2.7
3,158 2.6 11,824 4.0 3,359 6.4 7,5s4 12.8
5,946 4.9 28,266 9.6 3,310 6.3 3,s28 6.5
3,797 3.2 10,896 3.7 3,405 6.4 1,967 3.3
33 .. . 33 ...... 30 ... . 10 .. .
14 . .

34,17s i in. : .. .. I .,219 10.5
26,404 ,, .. .I ,5 4 43.4
8,332 II I ',. 172 0.3
6 I ,' ',Ii I.. 0l OS 0.2

261 4 ......



..... .. .... 14.


9S7 0.8 1s9 0.1 31 117 0.2
266 0.2 396 0.2 153 0.3 293 0.5

120,251 10 '293,456 100 52,872 100 59,028 100
36 ...... 100 .. 50 32 ....
3,340 ...... 2,935 .. 1,057 1,S45

104,202 . i .... 41,331 ...... 44,00 ...

.. .. I ........ .. ......


Nov., 1950


Per-
Pounds cent-
Taken age

3,592 6.6
7,300 13.3
10,707 19.6
1,972 3.6
54 0.1


6,749 12.3
1,809 3.3
307 0.6


Dec.,



Pounds
Taken

1,230
6,088
4,327
1,056
4
1

2,042
1,629
155


57 0.1 6
5 .. . .
9 . . . .
21,230 38.8 6,138

1 ... 14

466 60.9 27i
276 0.5 47
137 0.3 137

54,690 100 23,145
29 ... 10
1,886 2,314

31,665 10,439


1


Table 13 (Continued)


July, 1950


August, 1950


Sept., 1950 October, 1950 Nov., 1950 December, 19501 TOTAL


Per- Per- Per- Per-| Per-
Pounds Pounds ent- Pounds cent- Pounds cent- Penads cent- Pounds
TTaken age ken age Taken age Taken age Taken age Taken
_______n e___ ___ ___ ___


3,377 8.5
2,442 6.2
1,895 4.S
1,949 4.9

.. 4 ...

40 .
13 .. .
21,246 .7

610 1.5"
1,352 3.4
5,601 14.6
951 2.4



.. 21 .....

68 .....


9,190
2,404
14,054
11,624

9
2,266
732
23,964


1,179
1,833
5,227



"96
342


4,772
1,103
2,290
2,757

3

3,276
4,004
10,940

465
867
741
1,790



39
99


8,972
1,427
7,266
8,371


5,186
5,389
3.422

15
1,166
706
2,339
1,067




230


3,219
7,691
2,183
1,183


2,249
4,282
575

i "
274
1,205
123



197
178


1,369
3,406
302
46


1,350
2,092
1,687


538
384
2,345
1




4


Pounds
Taken

30,899
18,473
28,190
25,930
3
13
14,367
16,512
61,834


5,244
4,762
14,064
9,159



358
921


39,569 100 73,638 100 33,110 100 45,595 100 25,36S 100 13,526 100 230,8,6 100
35 ..... 53 ...... 31 ..... 44 ...... 17 .... 12 ...... 192 ......
1,131 ...... 1,389 . .. 1,068 1,036 . 1,492 ...... 1,127 ...... 1,202 ......

29,902 .... 36,35 ... .. 2285 ...... 1.,559 .... 10,892 .... ,403 .. 127,298 ......

. . .. .. .... .... ...... ........ ........ .... . .. .... . .3 ... .


950 TOTAL


Per- Per-
cent- Pounds cent-
age Taken age

5.3 21,239 3.5
26.3 39,313 6.5
18.8 56,384 9.4
4.6 23,093 3.8
.. 164 ......
. . 15 .....

s.S 171,176 23.5
7.0 132,350 21.9
0.7 18,177 3.0
...... 12 .. .
. 631 0.1
.. ... 235 ..
. ... 9 .. .
26.5 136,562 22.6
. .. 10 .....
0.1 241 ......
14 ......

1 .2 1' sis o.i1
0.2 1,647 0.3
0.5 1,382 0.3
1 '... 100


I r J









Regulations were suggested for the taking of this huge crop by
private industry under a system of controlled fishing by haul seines,
pound nets, hoop nets and wire traps in order to allow utilization
of this huge, now wasted resource. The need for continual inventory
and check on the fish populations was also emphasized in order to
safeguard the fish population from depletion or over-utilization.
Statistics on the monthly trends in composition of adult fish popula-
tions as determined by haul seines in the Lake George and Lake
Okeechobee areas may be found in Tables 12 and 13. It should be
pointed out that while the data listed in the first 12 months of
survey reflect total catch by haul seine, the remaining data repre-
sent only a sample, varying from approximately 30 to 80 percent
of the total catch, as a reduction in supervising manpower during
the periods covered by the latter tables prevented checking every
haul made. Data obtained from Crescent Lake, covered by the
Lake George survey may be found in Table 14.

Incidental to other duties, it has been possible to obtain some
data on the catch by sport fishermen on several important fishing
waters. These data, referred to as "Creel Census" records are used
primarily to determine the quality of fishing afforded by the waters
in question, and to indicate whether fishing is improving over a
period of years. It has not been possible to devote as much time
as desired to this important phase of the measurement of fishing
success, but those results which have been obtained are presented.

In addition to the numbers and weights of fish caught, information
is usually gathered on the number of hours of fishing, the percentage
of effort expended on each species, and in some cases a count of the
total fishermen in the area.
Some data are available by months back to early 1948 in the
Lake George area, and to 1949 in Lake Okeechobee, and are re-
ported in Tables 15, 16, and 17. Opening day records have been
obtained for several of the west Florida waters which have retained
the two months closed season, and are reported in Table 18.

Fishing Gear Catch Studies
In order to determine the effect of certain commercial fishing
devices upon fish populations and to obtain information on the best
type of gear which could be used to harvest catfish and other
species, a number of studies of individual types of fishing devices










in various waters have been conducted. Results of some of these
studies were reported in the Biennial Report for 1947-48, but many
more have been carried out since then and are reported here.
Gear catch studies are conducted by Commission personnel in
cooperation with local commercial fishermen. These local fishermen
are instructed in keeping daily records of their catches and are
visited at intervals during the experimental period. Fishermen
chosen for this type of work are those having a reputation of
integrity and trustworthiness, plus the willingness and ability to
keep accurate records. The large majority of them have shown
considerable interest in keeping accurate records and in the out-
come of the studies. However, the data from a few fishermen who
failed to live up to expectations were disregarded and not used in
compiling information in these studies. Types of bait used, exact
location of devices, depth of water, and other important information
is kept, along with the catch.

WIRE TRAPS
Wire traps for taking catfish are used in a number of the larger
fresh waters of Florida under special permit from the Commission.
Legal traps are of cylindrical construction of ordinary chicken wire
with a mesh of either 1" or 11/4". One or two funnels may be located
in one end of the trap only, and the length may not exceed 7 feet
or the diameter 32 inches. Traps must be baited continuously and
visited not less than once each 48 hours, and all must be marked
by stakes or floats with a tag denoting ownership attached to each
trap. Traps are not permitted in waters less than 4 feet in depth.
In general, catch of these baited wire traps is less than 7 percent
by weight of game fish and very little mortality is incurred in
releasing these fish. In view of this low catch of game fish, it is
thought that the operation of baited wire traps has no detrimental
effect on game fish populations and is probably of some assistance
in helping to remove a large volume of rough fish and making
possible the utilization of these rough fish, which would otherwise
not be taken. Studies have been carried out in Lakes Istokpoga,
Okeechobee, Hatchineha, Lake Wilmington, and others, four of
which are reported in Table 19.

POUND NETS
The limited use of pound nets has been permitted in the Lake
George area of the St. Johns River, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Istok-
poga, and Doctor's Lake. Pound nets of the type approved for use











Table 14.
COMPOSITION OF ADULT FISH POPULATION AND OTHER DATA AS
DETERMINED BY HAND SEINE SURVEY IN CRESCENT LAKE


Name of Waters......................... ..........
C county ....................... ........... .........
A pproxim ate A rea ...................... ..............
Average Depth Surveyed................ ..............
B bottom T y pe . ................................
D ate of Survey .......................................
L ength of Seine ......................................
M minimum M esh (stretched)............................

Species Composition

Largem outh B ass........................... ......
B lack C rappie............................. . .
B lu eg ill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shellcracker.......................... ......... ...
R ed b reast ..........................................
M miscellaneous Sunfish................................
C hain P ickerel ......................................
C channel C atfish .....................................
W hite C atfish ......................................
Speckled B ullhead ..................................
Y ellow B ullhead .....................................
Longnose Gar..................... ...... ........
O their Gar ... .....................................
G izzard Shad .......................................
C hu ) Sucker............................. ........
Golden Shiner. ..................................
M u llet . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Miscellaneous Salt Water Species ................... .

T otal Fish T aken .....................................
N um ber of hauls .................................. ..
Average pounds per haul...............................
Pounds taken per acre ................................
Pounds rough fish removed ............................
Pounds rough fish removed per acre................... . .


Lake Crescent
Putnam
16,742 acres
6-10 feet
Sand
April 1950
1500 yards
3 inches

Pounds Percent-
Taken age

1,408 12.7
608 5.5
2,588 23.4
449 4.1
26 0.2

1,734 15.7
1,585 14.3
348 3.2
664 6.0
197 1.8
20 0.2
1,050 9.5
23 0.1
361 3.3

11,061 100
12
922

5,982


i Insignificant figure.

consist ofa square box or impoundment constructed of mesh web-
bing and attached to poles or pilings driven into the bottom. The
entrance to this impounded section is a "V" shaped or funnel
arrangement of webbing, also stretched on poles, known as the
heart. A pound net may be used with or without a wing or lead,
which is a straight piece of webbing strung on stationery piling.
The fish, during their normal movement, are either intercepted by
the wing and led into the heart whence they find their way into
the pound, or are attracted through the funnel shaped opening by
bait. They are held in the pound until the operator releases the








Table 15.

MONTHLY SUMMARIES OF CREEL CENSUS DATA FROM ST. JOHNS RIVER (LAKE GEORGE AREA) 1 1948-1950


Month




February, 1948 .......
M arch, 1948... ......
April, 1948..... .. ...
M ay, 1948..........
December, 1948 .....
February, 1949 ..... .
M arch, 1949 ..........
April, 1949 ..... .
January, 1950 .........
February, 1950 .......
March, 1950 ........
April, 1950 ...........
M ay, 1950............
June, 1 50 .. ......
July, 1950 ..
September, 1950 ......
November, 1950 .......
December, 1950 ...


Number Total
of Perons Hours of
Checked Fishing


123
80
246
21
4
44
24
12
9
92
74
104
101
70
42
12
188
166


964.5
538.0
1,603.5
67.0
5.7
236.1
66.5
34.0
66.0
584.2
394.0
665.0
705.0
266.0
255.0
49.0
871.0
1,069.0


BLACK BASS


Number
Taken

62
36
400
41
6
5
3
1
14
81
62
102
76
35
32
11
133
173


Number
per Hour

.07
.09
.31
.67
1.01
.02
.01
.03
.66
.15
.16
.17
.11
.13
.13
.22
.16
.17


Percent
of Effort
Expended

91. 1
75.9
78.9
100.0
100.0
95.3
57.9
100.0
100.0
93.3
95.7
91.8
92.4
06.7
95.3
100.0
95.4
96.4


BLACK CRAPPIE


Number
Taken

10


















4


Number
per Hour

1.0


















.24


Percent
of Effort
Expended

1.0







. .. . . ..










1.9


SCompiled by Barry 0. Freeman, Fish Management Supervisor.
2 Includes catfish, pickerel, and an occasional gar or mudfish.
Hours of fishing not available on 20 people who did not catch anything. Average hours for others used for total.
4 One day only.
i Insignificant.
Inc Incidental.


BREAM
IPercent

Number Number of Effort
Taken per IIonr Expended

102 1.31 7.0
417 3.20 24.1
536 1.59 21.1


:..... .... 4.6
61 2.17 42.1


17 .38 6.7
2 .40 4.8
151 2.79 S.2
36 .68 7.6
3 .33 3.3
28 2.33 4.7

50 2.17 2.7
37 .97 3.6


OTHERS 2

Percent
Number Number of Effort
Taken per Hour Expended

13 .01 Inc.
15 .03 Inc.
8 i Inc.


9 .05 Inc.
5 .01 Inc.


9 i Inc.
6 .01 Inc.
21 .03 Inc.
11 .01 Inc.
2 .01 Inc.


14 .01 Inc.
34 .03 Inc.






Table 16.

MONTHLY SUMMARIES OF CREEL CENSUS DATA FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE' 1949-1950


Number Total
of Persons Hours of
Qheeked Fishing


21 94.0
o=


BLACK BASS


Number
Taken

59
21
20
57
123
15
6
15
15
71


Number
per Hour

0.80
0.51
0.40
0.71
0.91
0.25
0.41
0.43
0.85
01.2S


Percent
of Effort
Expended


100.0
100.0
S2.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
79.3
1010.0
93.3


BLACK CRAPPIE


Numlier Number
Taken per Hour


BREAM


Percent
of Effort Number
Expended Taken I

.... 57


9.8 4


Percent
of Effort
Expended

21.3


4.6


4 .90 20.7

22 2.1 5.2


OTHERS


" I 3.3


Percent
of Effort
Expended





2.7






1.5


1 Compiled by Don I R. Luethy, Fish Management Super isor.
2 Includes catfish. pickerel, and an occasional gar or mud'ish.
Table 17.

MONTHLY SUMMARIES OF CREEL CENSUS DATA FROM KISSIMMEE RIVER (OKEECHOBEE AREA)', 1949-50


BLACK BASS BLACK C'APPIE 13REAMl OTHERS 2
Number Total - ----------
Month of Persons Hours of Percent Percent Percent Percent
Checked iishing Number Number of Effort Number Number of Effort Number Number of Effort Numlber Number of Effort
Taken per Hlour Expended Take'i pter Hour Expe'lded Takeo pr flour Expende:I Taken per Hour Expended

December, 1949 53 199.0 8 0.46 (.5 271 1.63 89.5 7 1.7 2.0 4 1.60 2.0
January, 1950 90 361.0 1 0.40 2.8 342 1.10 94.1 14 1.47 2.0 11 3.11 .8
February, 1953 104 371.5 15 0.39 10.5 290 .86 87.8 7 1.00 1.6 1 2.01 .1
March. I950 10O 315.0 3 -1.66 .6 252 1.04 s4.3 39 1.1. 9.9 16 .94 5.2
April, 1950 121 397.2 8 0.45 4.4 527 1.55 S5.5 29 1.12 6.5 12 .83 3.6


I Compiled by Don It. Luethy, Fish Management Supervisor.
2 Includes catfish, pickerel, and anl occasional gar or mudfish.


Month


August, 1949.
October, 1949
November, 1949
December, 1949
January, 1950 .
February, 1950
March, 1950
May, 1950.
September, 1950
October, 1950
















Table 18.

OPENING DAY CREEL CENSUS DATA FROM THREE WEST FLORIDA WATERS 1948-1950


Location


Oehessee Pond ........


Blue Springs .....
(Jackson County)

Dead Lakes...........


Date


June 1, 1949 .........
June 1, 1950 ..........

June 1, 1949 ..........
June 1, 1950 .........

June I, 1948 .........
June 1, 1949 .. ......
June 1, 1950 ..........


Fish rmen
Checked


43
131

103
66

44
170
86


Total Number
Fishermen


940
851

400
451

1500
1962
1880


Total Number
Fish Caught


10,993
4,633

3,850
4,736

14,535
21,190
17,296


Total Pounds
Fish Caught


4,786
1,276

1,839
1,173

5,445
9,028
7,332


Average Number
Fish per Person


13.09
5.44

9.64
10.50

9.69
10.10
9.30


Average Pounds
Fish per Person


5.70
1.49

3.47
2.60

3.63
4.60
3.90


Table 18.
OPENING DAY CREEL CENSUS DATA FROM THREE WEST FLORIDA WATERS 1948-1950









bottom corners of the net and concentrates them into one corner
where he removes them by dip-net. Catfish and other rough fish
are placed in the operator's boat, while game fish are thrown back
into the waters unharmed. Catches of game fish by pound net are
also low, and as all can be returned immediately unharmed, the
pound net is not considered detrimental to game fish populations.
A complete listing of catches and other data surrounding pound net
operations in Lake Istokpoga and the St. Johns River may be found
in Table 20.
HOOP NETS
Some studies have also been made of the use of hoop nets in
certain areas of the St. Johns River. A hoop net is a cylindrical
trapping device made of mesh webbing stretched over large hoops,
usually of wooden construction, with one or more mesh throats in
the mouth or down-stream end. The maximum diameter permitted
is 6 feet with minimum mesh allowed, 3 inches stretched. As in the
case of traps, all hoop nets must have the owner's name upon them.
Data gathered from hoop net catches in the St. Johns River is
presented in Table 21.
SHAD AND HERRING SEINES
Short haul seines are fished seasonally in certain parts of the St.
Johns River and Crescent Lake for the purpose of catching the
migrating American shad and herring, or alewives. These nets are
fished exclusively for shad and herring, although they do incident-
ally catch a few catfish and other fresh-water species. The maximum
length permitted is 600 yards with a minimum mesh of 2 inches
stretched. These devices are traditionally fished on specific loca-
tions or haul grounds which have been prepared by clearing or
filling in with shell by the operator holding the permit, and in
general, very few game fish are taken in the areas where most of
the fishing by this gear is done. However, it will be noted in Table
22 that studies made on shad and herring seines in certain portions
of Lake George took a high percentage of game fish. For this reason,
all permits for this gear were discontinued following these studies
in Lake George and are now concentrated in the St. Johns River
north of Lake George and in certain locations in Crescent Lake.
Complete data on catches by this gear may be found in Table 22.
GILL AND TRAMMEL NETS
Both gill and trammel nets are permitted in certain areas of the
St. Johns River for the primary purpose of taking mullet. Gill and














COMPOSITION


Table 19.

OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL WIRE TRAPS
IN SEVERAL FLORIDA WATERS


Name of Waters
County....
Date of Survey


Largenmouth Bass
Black Crappie.
Bluegill .. .
Shelleracker
Redbreast.
Miscellaneous Sunfish
Channel Catfish.
White Catfish.
Speckled Bullhead
Yellow Bullhead
Longuose Gar(
Other Gar.
.Mudfish..
Gizzard Shad
Chub Sucker
flolden Shiner

Total fish taken.
Number trap davs.
Average pounds per trap day
Pounds rough fish. .


Lake Lake
Okeeccchohee Wilmhnington -
Indian River
December, 1948- January-
May, 194q June, 1950

Per- Per-
Pounds centage Pounds centage

2
2
2 ... 5,622 8.5
2 .


2.722 66.1
1,393 33.8
,


4,117
1,279
3.2
4,115


22,53.8
31,243
4,772
S1
185
110
298,
81
. 52
17

65,812
3.295
20
00,1S4


34.2
47.5
7.3
0.1
0.3
0.2
0.5
1.3
0.1


too


I


Lake La
Hatchineha Istol
Osceola High
February 14- March
March 2, 1949 July,

Per-
Pounds centage Pounds

S 2.3 126
4 1.1 123
12 3.4 7,022
1 0.3 247
.. 150
.. .. . . 16
202 57.2 147.088
114 32.3 23,324
58
2 0.6 16
763
... 84
. . .. . 45
10 2.8 1,143
. . . . .. . . 2 9
.. . .. ... 271

353 100 tOO .. .
230 .. 29,473
1.6 6.1
328 .. ... 172,821


trammel nets are long, fine-threaded nets, having floats and leads

similar to those of a seine, but which depend upon entangling or
killingg" rather than surrounding the fish. Maximum allowable

lengths are 300 yards for gill nets, 200 yards for trammel nets, and
minimum mesh is 3 inches stretched. The gill net is one of the most

selective types of fishing net, and can be used only in specific areas

and with such mesh sizes that minimize the take of other than
commercial species. For instance, catches by gill nets in the St.
Johns River near Green Cove Springs showed a catch of less than 4

percent by weight of game fish, whereas similar netting operations
in Lake Apopka yielded as high as 20 percent of game fish. The
status of the fish population and catch of game fish determines to a

great extent whether or not this type of gear may be permitted in a
specific area. Data obtained from gill and trammel net catches may

be found in Table 23.


.ke
kpoga
lands
, 1949-
1950

Per-
centage

0.1
0.1
4.0
0.1
0.1

81.5
12.9


0.4


0.6

0.2

100











Table 20.
COMPOSITION OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL POUND NETS
IN TWO FLORIDA WATERS

Name of Waters ..................... Lake Istokpoga St. Johns River
County ............... ............ Highlands Putnam
Date of Survey................... . July-December,1948 April-June, 1949

Per- Per-
Pounds centage Pounds centage

Largemouth Bass................ .. ...... .. ... 47 1.0
Black Crappie .. ......... ....... 18 . . . . 360 7.9
Bluegill .................. .. . 23 0.1 45 1.0
Shellcracker....................... 1 ........ 8 0.2
R edbreast .......................... 6 ........ 2 ........
M miscellaneous Sunfish............... 27 0.1 1 ........
Channel Catfish........ ......... 27,906 78.6 1,926 42.3
W white Catfish...................... 7,428 20.9 1,516 33.2
Speckled Bullhead . . . . . . . . . .. 229 5.0
Y ellow B ullhead .................... ........ ..1 ........ .......
Longnose Gar............... ..... 21 0.1 83 1.8
Other Gar... .... .. ...... ..... 81 0.2 4 0.1
M udfish ........ .. ........... 5 ........ 4 0 .1
G izzard Shad ....... .............. ........ ........ 139 3 .0
C hub Sucker ..... .. ....... ..... . ........ 3 0 .1
G olden Shiner .. .... .... ........ . ...... 1
A rrerican Shad ......... ....... . ....... ...... . 4 0 .1
M ullet ................ .. ............ .. ... ... .. ... 148 3 .2
Miscellaneous Salt \Vater Species . . . . . . . 43 1.0

Total Fish Taken.............. . . ... 35,516 100 4,564 100
Number of Net Days................. 101 ..... 0 .. ...
Average pound" per net day ........... 351 . . 51 .......
Pound, of rough fish taken ............ 35,441 99.8 4.101 89.9



Table 21.
COMPOSITION OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL HOOP NETS IN THE
ST. JOHNS RIVER DURING AUGUST-OCTOBER, 1948

Pounds Percentage

Largemouth Bass.... 87 0.4
Black Crappie ................ 262 1.1
B lu egill ......... . . .. 4 ...........
Redbreast. . ........ 33 0.1
Miscellaneous Sunfish... 12 0.1
Channel Catfish.... . . .. .. 8,602 35.4
W hite Catfish .......... . 12,703 52.3
Speckled Bullhead .. . . .. ..... .......... 2,584 10.6

Total fish taken ........... . .......... .... 24,287 100
Num ber of net days ... ..... . .. . 3,422 ............
Average pounds per net day .. ..... ......... .. . 7 ............
Pounds rough fish taken ........................... 23,889 08.3


89










Table 22.
COMPOSITION OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL SHAD AND HERRING
SEINES IN LAKE GEORGE AND ST. JOHNS RIVER
DURING FEBRUARY, 1949

Name of Waters ...................... Lake George St. Johns River
County............................. Lake and Volusia Putnam
Per- Per-
Pounds centage Pounds centage
Largemouth Bass..................... 1,172 39.6 15 0.4
Black Crappic....................... 165 5.6 20 0.5
Bluegill ............................. 855 28.8 8 0.2
Shellcracker ......................... 75 2 .5 .......... ........
Redbreast........................... 20 0.7 5 0.1
M miscellaneous Sunfish ........... .... ...... .. . 2 ........
Chain Pickerel. ............. .... 6 0.2 ..................
Channel Catfish ..................... 529 17.8 74 2.0
W white Catfish ........................ 8 0.3 14 0.4
Speckled Bullhead .................... 90 3.3 1 ........
Longnose G ar........................ .... .. ... ........ 40 1.1
O their G ar............................. 9 0.3 3 0.1
G izzard Shad ........................ 1 ........ 47 1.3
C hub Sucker.......................... ... .... ... ... 1 ........
G olden Shiner........................ 6 0 .2 .......... ........
Hickory Shad................................ ..... .. 8 0.2
American Shad....................... ... ... ........ 1,289 34.5
Herring (Alewives) ................... ........ ......... 2,205 58.9
M u llet ... .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . .. ... .. .. 3 0 .1
Miscellaneous Salt Water Species ....... 22 0.7 6 0.2
Total fish taken . ................ 2,967 . . 3,741 ........
Number of hauls............ ....... 4 ........ 18 ........
Average pounds per haul .............. 741 . . . . 208 ........
Total pounds rough fish taken......... 674 23.6 3,691 98.8


HAUL SEINES
Haul seines are at present permitted in certain parts of the St.
Johns River and in Lake Okeechobee for the purpose of taking
catfish and other rough fish. The haul seine is a long piece of mesh
webbing having floats at the top and leads on the bottom, enabling
it to stand perpendicular in the water. It is usually laid out of a
boat and towed in a circle to encircle the fish of a given area. Upon
bringing the circle of the net into a continuously smaller area, the
fish are finally concentrated into a pocket or bag, from which they
are removed. Under present restrictions, all game fish are released
immediately upon being taken, while catfish, gars, gizzard shad,
suckers, and other rough fish are retained by the fishermen. Mor-
tality of game fish taken in haul seines is generally small, and it is
felt that the benefit derived from the removal of the catfish and rough
fish more than offsets any small loss in game fish taken by this

90












Table 23.
COMPOSITION OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL GILL AND TRAMMEL
NETS IN SEVERAL FLORIDA WATERS


Name of Waters..... ........

Location .......... .. .
D ates........... .....


Type of Gear......... ..
Length of Net............ ......
Minimum Mesh (stretched). .....


Species Composition

Largemouth Bass.... . ....
Black Crappie...... . .
B luegill........... .
Chain Pickerel .........
Miscellaneous Sunfish.....
M ullet ... ......... .. ........
Channel Catfish ...... ............
Longnose Gar.....................
Other G ar............... ..... ...
M udfish............ .. .....
G izzard Shad ....................
Chub Sucker.....................
Golden Shiner ..................
Miscellaneous Fresh Water Species. .
Miscellaneous Salt Water Species....

Total fish taken............ .. ..
Total runs made......... .....
Average pounds per run..... ....
Total pounds rough fish.............


St. Johns River

Clay County
May and June, 1949


Gill Net
250 yards
3Y8 inches

Per-
Pounds centage

8 0.3
11 0.4
103 3.9
1 .
1 .. .
1,451 56.2
688 26.0
103 3.9
25 0.9

85 3.2
14 0.5
4 0.2

116 4.5

2,651 100
60 . .
44 .
2,527 .... .


Trammel Net
250 yards
3 inches

Per-


Pounds

24
11
35


736
647
14
4

152
9
19

27

1,679
24
70
1,608


centage

1.4
0.7
2.1


43.9
38.6
0.8
0.2

9.1
0.5
1.1

1.6

100


Lake Apopka (Orange County)

Near E.L. Apopka Near Oakland
December, 1949- January 16-31,
January, 1950 1950

Gill Net Gill Net
200 yards 200 yards
5 inches 5 inches

Per- Per-
Pounds centage Pounds centage

1,234 16.9 45 1.1
172 2.3 22 0.5
31 0.4 3 .....


61

1,852
3,753


204


7,307
24
304
5,870


1,152

206
2,765


37


4,230
6
705
4,160


27.2

4.9
65.4


0.9


100


Table 24.
COMPOSITION OF CATCH BY EXPERIMENTAL SLAT BASKETS IN THE
SUWANNEE RIVER, IN DIXIE COUNTY, APRIL-JUNE, 1950


Pounds Percentage

Largem outh Bass.................................. 7 0.9
B lu gill .. .................................. ..... 1 0 .1
Redbreast ........................................ 2 0.2
W arm outh .m .................. .................. 1 0 .1
Channel Catfish................................... 717 91.5
W hite C atfish................................. .... 43 5.5
Speckled Bullhead ............................... 13 1.7

Total fish taken................................... 784 100
N um ber trap days............................... 1,185 ............
Average pounds per trap day ..................... .. 0.66
Total pounds rough fish............................ 773 98.7









Table 25.
MONTHLY POUNDAGES' OF CATFISH REPORTED2 BY LICENSED
WHOLESALE FRESH WATER FISH DEALERS FOR 1950

January. ... 1,086,197
February. ....... 979.644
M arch . ..... 1,021.547
April.... .. .... 886,906
MaNy...... 824,271
June. .. 691,562
July. 685,459
August ... ... 1,162,977
September. ... 813,841
October. ...... 855,864
November ...... 1,316,424
December.... 1,327,106
T otal ....................... 11,651, 798

SAll poundages reported as dressed weights were converted to rough weights
by multiplying x 2.
2 Includes the southern channel catfish, the white catfish, the speckled bull-
head, and the yellow bullhead.

method. The haul seine contributes a major part of the catfish taken
from the particular waters in which it is permitted each year and
enables harvesting of great numbers of these species which could
not otherwise be taken. Fish Management Division personnel super-
vise the overall fishing activities of the haul seine operations and
gather information daily on the composition of the catch taken by
this gear. This information assists in determining the status of the
adult fish populations of the waters involved and is a source of
supply of fish used in calculating growth and age, and in obtaining
other valuable information. Maximum length now permitted on
haul seines is 1600 yards with a minimum mesh of 3 inches stretched.
Haul seines may be fished only on Monday through Friday between
the hours of 3 AM and 5 PM. A four-months closed season on the
operation of haul seines is in effect on both Lake George and Lake
Okeechobee. Data on the monthly composition of the catch by haul
seines may be found in Tables 12 and 13.
SLAT BASKETS
Studies of the catch by wooden slat baskets were also made
during this biennium in several Florida waters, including the
Suwannee River, the Escambia River, and Yellow River. The slat
basket is a cylindrical trap composed of wooden slats about 6 feet
in length and is not over 20 inches in diameter. The downstream end
or mouth has one or more funnels or throats also constructed of
wooden slats into which the fish enters but cannot escape. Minimum










distance between slats at the head or upstream end must be IV2
inches to permit the escape of small fish. Experimental data on the
catch by these devices indicate that the wooden slat basket is almost
wholly specific for catfish, as other fish very seldom enter it. As a
result, it is felt that this is one of the most effective means of taking
catfish from suitable waters without interfering with the game fish
populations. Data gathered on catch by wooden slat baskets is listed
in Table 24.


Wholesale Fresh Water Fish Dealers Reports
Since January 1950 a special effort has been made to obtain com-
plete records of all fresh water fish taken by commercial fisher-
men, as required by Section 372.68 of the Statutes of Florida. Ex-
cellent cooperation was received from most of the dealers, resulting
in data believed to be more than 90 percent complete. The total
catfish taken, as reported by the dealers, is listed by month in
Table 25.

Special Reports and Publications
A number of special reports and publications have been issued
covering certain phases of fisheries investigations and management,
and are listed below. Some of these may be obtained from the office
in Tallahassee.

Management of Florida's Fresh Water Fisheries, by John F. Dequine.
Reprinted from Vol. 78 of the Transactions of the American Fisheries
Society, 1950.
Results of Some Tagging Studies of the Florida Largemouth Bass Microp-
terus Salmoides Floridanus (LeSueur), by John F. Dequine and Charles
E. Hall, Jr. Reprinted from Vol. 79 of the Transactions of the American
Fisheries Society, 1950.
Is the Florida Snmallmouth a Fable? by John F. Dequine. Reprinted from
the September 1949 Florida Wildlife (also under the title "Identifying the
Florida Basses").
The Lowdown on Balance, by John F. Dequine. Reprinted from Florida
Wildlife, May 1950.
Results of Rough Fish Control Operations in Lake Apopka during De-
cember 1949 and January 1950. Mimeographed report, dated 14 February
1950. -
*Recommendations for Management of Commercial Fishing Activities in
Certain Waters of Florida. Mimeographed report, dated 17 January 1950.
*Report on Fisheries Investigation Projects for the Year Ending June 30,
1949. Mimeographed report, dated 19 July 1949.
*Rough Fish Control Operations in Lake Thonotosassa. Mimeographed
report, dated 15 May 1950.
*A Report on Fisheries Investigations of the St. Johns River and Lake
Okeechobee, 1948-50, With Recommendations for Management. Mimeo-
graphed report, dated 18 August 1950.
*Supply limited




LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATION CHART


Game/Fresh Wazer fish Commi+sion~
FI VE- M-EMBERS5
I
D tIrector
,5ssi3 tani Director


2acd fo-
DiV Z-5io-n


5 Conmerpva on Districts
Each headed by
Chief 1ildZife Officer
20Lawf nforcemenizdreas
Eackt headed bqi
?irea Supervisor
6 to72 ZIVldU fe Of/icer'
Jn faCLAKre c


ovationn Division
4 Plaes4Pilot


At,









LAW

ENFORCEMENT

DIVISION


BEN McLAUCHLIN
Ass't Director


JOHN SWIFT ......... Chief, First District
LESTER MIKELL. .... Chief, Second District
FRANCIS VILLAR ..... Chief, Third District
CURTIS WRIGHT .... Chief, Fourth District
WALDO PRIEST. ...... Chief, Fifth District















LAW ENFORCEMENT




Florida's Wildlife Officers have the gigantic task of enforcing
the game and fish laws and assisting in game and fish management
on 39,000,000 acres of land and water. Few of us realize that
Florida is the second largest state east of the Mississippi River,
that we have the longest coast line in the entire nation, that we
possess 30,000 named fresh water lakes, and that we are rated
as second in the United States in woodland area. These facts show
the tremendous responsibility facing our Wildlife Officers. Each
Wildlife Officer in Florida is responsible for the game and fish
on almost one-quarter million acres.
During the past two years a number of important policy changes
have been made by the Commission in the Law Enforcement Di-
vision. This Division is under the direct supervision of the Com-
mission's Assistant Director. Each of the five conservation dis-
tricts is supervised by a Chief Wildlife Officer. Each district is
subdivided into four law enforcement areas, headed by an Area
Supervisor. The Area Supervisor and the Wildlife Officers under
his jurisdiction are directly responsible for law enforcement ac-
tivities in their territory.
To qualify as a Wildlife Officer, an individual must possess cer-
tain qualifications. First, he must be between the ages of 21 and
45 years at the time of employment. Second, he must be a high
school graduate, or better. Third, he must be able to pass a rigid
physical examination, and fourth, he must be a person of good
character and good standing in the community in which he re-
sides. Meeting the above minimum requirements, the prospective
officer is then carefully screened and examined. If found to be
fully qualified, he is then eligible for employment. All eligible
applicants are given competitive examinations. Vacancies are filled
by those making the highest score. Realizing the lack of professional
training in game and fish management activities, and in law en-









rorcement work, of the average person eligible for employment
as a Wildlife Officer, the Commission established a training school
for all its officers. The idea of creating a Wildlife Officers School was
undoubtedly one of the foremost steps taken by the Game and
Fresh Water Fish Commission in recent years. The Commission
has been a firm believer that periodic education is a prime essen-
tial for an aggressive and efficient wildlife conservation depart-
ment. The actual establishment of this school in July 1949 marks
a milestone in a program that has been envisioned for some time.
Florida is one of the fewx states in the nation that can boast of a



More than 200 Wildlife officers have attended the Commission's school. FuturD
Wildlife officers receive extensive training here.
-a r -- r .4- EU P a a-


creditable, educational program for both its new and old Wildlife
Officers. The school as now established, is located at the old Mont-
brook Air Base, three miles west of the City of Williston. This
abandoned air base, with its spacious grounds, splendid facilities
and central location, afforded the ideal essentials of a state wild-
life conservation school. The site is under a ten-year renewable


all









lease as a gift to the Commission from the City of Williston. The
purpose of the school is to prepare new officers for their job and
to keep our law enforcement body abreast of the rapid advance-
ments in conservation. Wildlife conservation principles and tech-
niques, like those of other organizations, change and improve
through the years. The personnel of any organization will be-
come stagnant if they are not currently presented with the latest
available information concerning their work. The school also
serves to rectify common errors frequently made by officers and
to correct them on common misconceptions of law and related
subjects.
The functions and program of the Wildlife Officers School ran as
follows: Eight classes of 20 wildlife officers have attended the
school to date; the school is not operated during the period from
October through February because of the tremendous pressure
brought about by the hunting season. A rigid 28-day curriculum
was presented that was highly condensed; nothing being offered
that was not essential or practical. The material presented during
this month of training is almost equivalent to a semester's work
in the average college. The school day commences at 6 A.M. and
continues until 10 P.M. The material presented can best be classi-
fied in three categories: Lectures, demonstrations and field trips.
Under the lectures, the following courses are given: The Consti-
tution of Florida, Interpretation of the Wildlife Code, Commit-
ment and Imprisonment, Subpoenas, Searches, Seizures, Forfeit-
ures, Map Reading, Predator Mammals and Birds, Game Foods,
First Aid, Fish Management, Game Management, Federal Court
Procedure and many other subjects. Demonstrations included 2-
way radio work, self defense training, construction of feeding
and trapping devices, and other subjects. Field trips included
studies in the Ocala National Forest, Marineland Studios, Silver



ENFORCEMENT BUDGET BY DISTRICTS

DISTRICT NUMBER OF OFFICERS OPERATING BUDGET
First 33 $142,500.00
Second 37 142,500.00
Third 36 142,500.00
Fourth 29 108,000.00
Fifth 35 140,500.00
Total 170 $676,000.00









Springs, and Giest Wildlife farms. The Commission feels that the
results of this professional improvement program in the Wildlife
Officers School have been highly satisfactory and will show de-
cided benefits to Florida's game and fish in the future years to
come.
A statewide uniform salary and expense schedule has now been
established. All Wildlife Officers are paid $2400. per year for the
first year's work. At the end of one year, if their services have
been satisfactory, they are given a 5% increase and each year
thereafter a 2% increase until they reach the maximum pay of
$2820. per year. Assistant Chiefs receive a salary of $3,000. per
year with the same annual percentage increases in salary until a
maximum pay of $3600. per year. Chief Wildlife Officers are paid
$4200. per year. Expense allowances are granted in conformity
to State law, which provides an allowance of $7.50 per 24-hour
period when the officer is away from home, or his official head-
quarters, and $2.00 per 24-hour period when he is on camp duty.
Wildlife Officers cannot perform a superior job unless they are
properly equipped. Much emphasis has been placed on the prob-
lem of properly equipping all officers. It was found that a saving
of approximately $700. per year could be effected by having offi-
cers travel in state-owned vehicles rather than personally owned
vehicles where mileage was paid. Now all officers travel in state
owned vehicles. By acquiring good boats and motors, swamp bug-
gies, airboats, airplanes and other specialized equipment Florida's
Wildlife Officers can now successfully cope with wildlife law en-
forcement problems.
During the past two years we have added 1 amphibian and 1
seaplane to our aviation department. We now have aircraft based
in Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5. Land planes are in Districts 1 and 4;
the amphibian in District 5, and the seaplane in District 2. The

ARREST REPORT FOR BIENNIUM
1949-50
Arrests Convictions Acquittals Pending
District One 851 765 72 14
District Two 889 782 87 20
District Three 1,041 919 73 49
District Four 367 330 22 15
District Five 729 677 39 13
Totals 3,877 3,473 293 111