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Letter from President, Bob Calala |
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mentioned earlier, O.D.A., O.D.O.W., Ohio Farm Bureau, O.A.R.D.C., OSU
Extension, and O.S.U.
Next is our annual banquet. Please mark your calendar and set aside Dec. 6th. This year it will be in the Columbus area and we have some new officers to elect. As always this organization is only as strong as the people that make up its membership, so where we go from here is up to you. Respectfully, Bob Calala |
OAA President, Bob Calala |
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Did You Know? By: Rob Busch, Secretary, OAA |
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The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is one of the most abundant
freshwater sport fish in the United States. It is easily caught by anglers
of all ages, and it is an important forage species for other sport fish
like the large mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Fishery
biologists routinely recommend the combination stocking of large mouth
bass and bluegill for sport fishing ponds. Bluegill are members of the
family of fishes called Centrarchidae, or the "sunfish
family". There are several other species of fish in this family that
may be mistakenly identified by the novice fisherman as bluegill. Bluegill
or similar looking fish in the sunfish family (Lepomis spp) are
often referred to as sunfish, bream, or panfish.
The North Central Regional Aquaculture Center estimates that there are approximately 250 sunfish producers in the North Central region of the United States which includes Ohio. The bluegill is the most commonly produced sunfish. Most sunfish producers market their fish as fingerlings for stocking private sport fishing ponds. About 20% of the producers grow the fish larger, and market them |
through fee-fishing facilities.
Under the right circumstances in nature, closely related species within the sunfish family can reproduce with each other resulting in hybrid offspring. Scientists have also produced hybrid sunfishes in the laboratory. One of the most promising of the sunfish crosses is the hybrid bluegill produced by mating the male bluegill with the female green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). Both of these fish are common in Ohio waters. The hybrid can be produced by stocking a pond with only male bluegill and only female green sunfish. The fish will reproduce naturally in the pond. There is no need to inject or feed hormones to the fish. The progeny (offspring) from this cross have a skewed sex ratio in favor of males (80-90% male). This reduces subsequent spawning by the hybrids when they reach sexual maturity, but these hybrid bluegill are not sterile. They can reproduce with the opposite sex hybrid or original parent species. Any reproduction by the hybrid, if successful, Cont. on Page 7 |
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