Paddlefish Restocking, Weds. Sept. 18th, approx.. 11:30am-12:15pm (we expect the USFWS trucks to arrive at 11:30am and begin acclimating the fish to the bayou water. We anticipate they will start releasing fish at noon and that it will be over by 12:15pm.) Jefferson, TX, City Boat Ramp on Big Cypress Bayou, just off 134, approx. street address, 399 E Austin St, Jefferson, TX.
Who: USFWS along with TPWD Inland Fisheries, and the Caddo Lake Institute (some funding provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Background:
In 2005, the Caddo Lake Institute, with many key nonprofit and government partners, began working on a flows regime that would help restore habitat and fisheries in Big Cypress Bayou/Caddo Lake. One key native species, the Paddlefish, had disappeared from Caddo after loss of springtime pulses indicating it was time to spawn, and lack of rocky bottoms on which to lay their eggs. The flows project remedied those issues, providing springtime pulses and sediment scouring. The USACE placed gravel spawning shoals in Big Cypress Bayou which remain clear of sediment. Experimental releases of paddlefish begun in 2014, were successful and in 2018 a full scale restocking of Paddlefish was begun and will continue until a viable population can be established. These fish are 350 million years old, older than the dinosaurs, are filter feeders, have no scales and essentially no bones. Paddlefish are listed as threatened in the state of Texas and are not game fish. Game fish restocking occurs regularly in Caddo.
