Standard Fish Sampling Guidelines for Washington State Ponds and Lakes PDF Format - [159K] Acknowledgments This report would not have been possible without the expertise and reviews of many individuals. For their advice and reviews, we thank the staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) including Steve Caromile, Chris Donelly, Mark Downen, Doug Fletcher, Joe Foster, Ross Fuller, Robert Gibbons, Chad Jackson, Steve Jackson, John Long, Stacey Kelsey, Jeff Korth, Curt Kraemer, William Meyer, Karl Mueller, Mark Petersen, Larry Phillips, Jim Scott, Jack Tipping, and John Weinheimer. For statistical advice we thank Peter Hahn and Annette Hoffman (WDFW). Dick O’Connor and Terry Johnson (WDFW) developed mapping programs to provide survey maps. Colleen Desselle (WDFW) provided valuable help on the formatting and publication of this document. Expertise outside the department was critical for designing protocols which matched procedures used successfully in other areas. We thank Rick Crump (Smith-Root Incorporated); William Davies (Auburn University - Emeritus); Wayne Hubert (Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit); Jeff Johnson (Smith-Root Incorporated); Leondro E. Miranda (Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit); James Reynolds (Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit- Emeritus); Dennis Schupp (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources); Kerry Smith (Smith-Root Incorporated); Alan Temple (U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, West Virginia); and David Willis (University of South Dakota) for their advice and reviews. Any mistakes we made interpreting their procedures are our own, and not theirs. We especially thank Bill Zook (WDFW) for his advice, funding, and support of this study. This study was funded by Washington State Warmwater Enhancement Funds and Federal Aid to Fish Restoration Project Number F115-R-3.

Standard Fish Sampling Guidelines for Washington State Ponds and Lakes June 2000 Scott A. Bonar, Bruce D. Bolding and Marc Divens Abstract Standardized sampling is necessary to compare growth, condition, and population sizes of various lacusterine fish species among years and among lakes. Use of standard techniques allows biologists to concentrate resources on improving fish populations instead of routine monitoring considerations. We present methods for standardizing Washington lake and pond sampling statewide. These methods are based on those used successfully in other areas and modified for the Pacific Northwest. Included in this report are guidelines for conducting gill netting, fyke netting and electrofishing surveys; standards for equipment; and techniques for selecting sample sizes to meet certain objectives. Introduction Standardized sampling and data comparison methodologies are used in a wide variety of fields such as medicine, finance, education and agriculture. Standardized sampling methodologies are also extremely important in fisheries and are required to evaluate how a fish population changes over time, or is functioning compared to an “average” in a state or a region. This allows the biologist to identify problem fish populations, discover populations with exceptional angling opportunities, set regulations, or apply various management strategies and monitor their effects. The following gives a short synopsis of standardized sampling procedures proposed to survey warmwater lake–fish populations in Washington state. These procedures are based on those used in other areas and have undergone both regional and national review, both by warmwater sampling experts and statisticians. This publication gives a step–by–step description, with examples, of how to conduct a standardized survey and calculate sample sizes. For clarity, we do not justify standard procedures in the text. Justification of specific reasons for certain standardized procedures appear as footnotes. This updates material found in Fletcher et al. (1993). Any questions or comments on this standardized procedure should be directed to Inland Fisheries Investigations, WDFW, Olympia. These methods were developed to capture the largest number of fish of various species in a majority of these waters. It can be tempting to change sampling on a lake–by–lake basis to try to capture an even larger number of fish. However, the best results will be obtained by those biologists who adhere closely to standardized procedures so their data will be comparable to state averages where fish were collected in the a similar manner. Application of these techniques whenever possible, even when just determining species composition, will improve your ability to evaluate lakes, and build a robust state database for comparison purposes.

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