season. During 1993–1994,2268–2726 kg of paddlef- Pennsylvania (no sport or commercialfisheries,
ish eggs were collected for caviar. A Montana/ classified asextirpated,statusextirpated)
North Dakota paddlefish management plan sug- Pennsylvania initiated a recovery program in 1991
gests a reduced harvest quota, beginning in 1996. to increase stocks in the upper Ohio and Allegheny
rivers. Habitat alteration and water quality are be-
Ohio(nosport or commercial fisheries, classified lieved to be most responsible for past declines; how-
threatened, status unknown) ever, water quality in these streams has improved.
Ohio prohibits snagging but allows pole and line
harvest. Fewer than 10 fish were harvested state- SouthDakota(sportfisheryonly,classified as sport,
wide in 1993. Ohio is currently conducting radio te- status stable)
lemetry studies in the lower Scioto and Ohio rivers. South Dakota shares responsibility with Nebraska
Management concerns include dams and contami- for a 1600-fish quota and a 88–114 cm (eye-to-fork-
nants. of-tail) slot length limit below Gavins Point Dam.
They began a stocking program in mid-1970s in
Oklahoma (sport fishery only, classified asnon- Lake Francis Case to guarantee a broodstock
game, status stable) source. Since 1990, South Dakota has been stocking
Little information exists regarding paddlefish juveniles into Lake Francis Case where natural re-
abundance outside the Grand Lake system, how- production is suspected to no longer occur, and into
ever a growing population is believed to exist in the Fort Randall Dam tailwaters where natural re-
Keystone Reservoir. Oklahoma’s major sport fish- production is limited.
ery occurs on the Grand River above Grand Lake
of the Cherokees. Smaller fisheries are located be- Tennessee(sport and commercial fisheries,classified
low several Arkansas River dams. Habitat alter- as sport/commercial,statusunknown)
ation and overfishing (legal and poaching for eggs) A modest sport harvest of about 2500 paddlefish
are of concern. Early juveniles are being stocked in- annually is spread among several tailwaters, how-
to Kaw Reservoir. Commercial harvest was prohib- ever this harvest is considered insignificant com-
ited in 1992. pared to the commercial harvest. All waters in the
Table 3.Sport harvest of paddlefish in 1993 and commercial harvest of paddlefish in 1992.