Abstract

Nine 0.1-ha earthen ponds were used to evaluate the effects of high (113.5 kg/ha) and low (59 kg/ha) stocking rates of Procambarus clarkii in ponds dominated by Procambarus acutus acutus. Three ponds were assigned to each stocking treatment and a control. Crayfish were stocked 2-3 weeks before drawdown in 1995 and 1996. Estimates of forage biomass at reflooding were similar among treatments but lower in the 1996/97-production year. Crayfish were harvested for 40 days each year. Harvests were similar among treatments. In 1995/96, the total length (TL) of the harvested crayfish was smaller than the TL of the harvested crayfish in 1996/97. No difference was detected in the mean TL among treatments. The highest percentage of P. clarkii was harvested from the high-stocking treatment ponds in 1995/96. Over both production years, the high-stocking rate ponds yielded the highest percentage of P. clarkii, and production year 1995/96 yielded more P. clarkii than 1996/97. The percentage of P. clarkii in the harvest increased as the season progressed and water temperatures warmed in 1995/96. This trend was not observed in the 1996/97-production year. Data indicate that P. clarkii spawned in both years, but few or any young-of-the-year individuals were harvested 1996/97. Two years of stocking P. clarkii did not improve production or shift species dominance in the culture ponds.

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