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Drought-Induced Drop In Reservoir Evicts Fish

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By NEIL JOHNSON

njohnson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 7, 2009

TAMPA - A two-year drought and the region's relentless demand for water means a boon for anglers as tons of game fish have been evicted from a shrinking reservoir and put in nearby ponds.

For three years, bass, panfish and channel cats in the region's 15 billion-gallon reservoir in southeast Hillsborough County have happily been doing what fish do - including making more fish.

But the reservoir will likely be all but empty by the end of this month, leaving little room for the finny denizens and creating the potential for a massive mess of dead fish.

And there were a lot of fish, said Chuck Carden, operations director for Tampa Bay Water, the regional utility that owns the reservoir.

"It was a very productive fishery. It was thriving," he said.

Starting in late January, a contractor hired by the utility spent 15 days capturing boatloads of fish, mainly using cast nets.

The fish were separated by species and put into tanks. Some went to seven ponds on reservoir property; others went to the nearby Alafia River State Park, much to the delight of anglers.

"They were happy to see us," Carden said.

There were plenty of fish to go around.

The contractor netted 19,587 pounds of largemouth bass and 9,936 pounds of channel catfish. There also were 89 pounds of bluegill.

Some of the bass were in the lunker class.

"I saw some that were 8 or 9 pounds. Beautiful," Carden said.

The small number of bluegill caught does not mimic what's found in most Florida lakes, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which had to issue a permit for the fish relocation.

Normally, bluegill are far more abundant than bass.

"I imagine the bluegill were in places where they were harder to catch," he said.

Tilapia is not native to Florida and would not be relocated.

The water supply in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco also benefitted from the fish eviction. Tampa Bay Water provides wholesale water to public utilities in those three counties as well as Tampa, St. Petersburg and New Port Richey.

Removing most of the fish will allow Tampa Bay Water to lower the reservoir 5 feet, translating into 450 million more gallons going to residents' faucets.

If all the fish were still there, the utility would have been forced to leave 10 feet of water in the reservoir to avoid tons of dead fish.
Tampa Bay Water paid the contractor $88,000.

"We thought it was a good investment," Carden said.

Typically, the conservation commission doesn't consider relocating wildlife as a boon to the environment, Morse said.

The reservoir is filled during the rainy season with water pumped from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers as well as the Tampa Bypass Canal. Fish eggs and small hatchlings come along with the water.

In the reservoir they found friendly conditions - few predators, no fishing and, until this year, plenty of water.

The lack of rainfall, plus cracks in the sides of the reservoir, forced Tampa Bay Water to start the dry season with the reservoir only partly full. This is the first time water in the reservoir is not lasting until rains in June ease demand.

Biologists think enough fish have been removed for the remaining ones to survive, although scientists will keep an eye on oxygen levels in the water and the temperature. If the oxygen drops too low or the temperature gets too high, more fish will have to go.

"The contractor can be back at a moment's notice," Carden said.

RESERVOIR CATCH

Among the fish recently removed from Tampa Bay Water's reservoir:

•Largemouth bass - 19,587 pounds

•Tilapia - 11,270 pounds

•Channel catfish - 9,936 pounds

•Gar - 30 pounds

•Bluegill - 89 pounds

Source: Tampa Bay Water

Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

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