protection for females. The statewide commercial
harvest during 1993 was estimated to be 136000–
181000 kg. Most sport fisheries are located below
dams onmajortributaries to the MississippiRiver.
Arkansas iscurrentlystockingjuveniles into the
WhiteRiver(Beaver Reservoir) toestablish an-
otherpaddlefish stock andhopefully a fishery. Hab-
itat alteration, contaminants, and sand and gravel
dredging are consideredmajor threats.
Illinois(sportandcommercialfisheries,classified as
sport/commercial,statusdeclining)
Nearly 90 percent of the reported commercial har-
vest occurs in theMississippiRiver. Therecent de-
cline incommercial harvest(21319 kg in 1993 com-
pared to24 500 kg in 1983) may berelated to poor
reporting by commercial fishermen. Although Louisiana(nosportorcommercialfisheries, classi-
there is ashortage of information,overfishing and fiedas specialconcern,statusstable)
habitatloss areconsideredthreats. In1992,a three year moratorium on paddlefish har-
vest, includingcommercial andsportfishing, be-
Indiana (sportfishingonly, classified assport, status camepermanent.There isgeneral concernregard-
stable) ing the impacts ofoverfishing ofadultpaddlefish
A n insignificant legalsportharvest isonly byhook stocksthroughout the state.Illegal caviartrade may
and line, no snagging.Major concerns includeille- be a problem at times.Habitatalterations and con-
gal harvest,habitat alteration and contaminants. taminants areconsideredthreats. In cooperation
withTexas,juvenile paddlefish are currently being
Iowa(sportfishingonly,classified assport,status stocked intoToledoBendReservoir to establish a
stable) population.
Iowaclosed its commercialfishery on theMissouri
River in1986 and theMississippi River in1987. Maryland(nosportorcommercialfisheries,classi-
Stocks in thepooled portion of theMississippi Riv- fied asextirpated, statusextirpated)
er are thought to bedecliningslightly,whereas be- Paddlefish are currently considered extirpated
low Lock and Dam 26, thestock isincreasing.Io- from thestate.
wa’ssportharvest occursbelow locks anddams on
the pooled portion of the Mississippi River. Illegal Minnesota(nosportorcommercial fisheries, classi-
harvest,habitat alteration, and contaminants are of fied asthreatened, statusstable)
concern. Although paddlefish remain rare, the largest stock
is found in theMississippiRiver.Minnesota cur-
Kansas (sportfishing only, classified assport, status rently has a long-rangemanagement planthat in-
stable/increasing) cludes apotential forstockingjuvenile paddlefish
Two sportfisheries below lowdams on theNeosho into theMinnesota RiverbelowGraniteFalls. Hab-
and Marais des Cygnesrivers flowinginto Oklaho- itatalteration appears to be themost seriousprob-
ma and Missouri,respectively,depend upon high lem.
springflows.In1993, theNeosho River fishery
yielded 87paddlefish,while theMarais desCygnes Mississippi (sport andcommercialfisheries, classi-
Riverfisheryproduced between500–550fish. Kan- fied as commercial,statusstable)
sas is currentlyattempting to restore thehistoric Paddlefish stocks in Pascagoula River are declining,
distribution bystockingjuvenilesintothe Arkan-
sas,Blue and upper Neoshorivers.Habitatalter-
ation, contaminants, andillegalharvest aremajor
managementconcerns.Kentucky (sport and commercial fisheries, classified
as commercial,status stable)
A commercialfishery is allowedonKentucky and
Barkleylakes and the Ohio Riveronly. In 1993, the
commercial harvest fromKentucky and Barkley
lakes was3906 kg.Kentucky’smajor sport fisheryis
below Kentucky Dam, where fewer than 1000 pad-
dlefish were harvested in 1993. Habitat destruction
and contaminants in theentireOhioRiver are con-
sideredmajor threats.