I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Fisheries Management

2. Course Prefix & Number:
NATR 2140

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 2

Lab Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

This course covers the basic concepts of modern fisheries management with special emphasis on fish community, watershed, exotic species, regulations, habitat management, fish culture and fish health, population dynamics and assessment techniques. Also covered are fish management techniques, fisheries management practices, age and growth analysis and fish population rehabilitation.

5. Placement Tests Required:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Name of Institution	Course Number and Title	Credits
Bemidji State University	Fisheries Management BIOL 4545	4
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point	Fisheries Management WATR 484	3
U of M Crookston	Principles of Fisheries Management NatR 1633	3

2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:

Name of Institution	Date of Acceptance	Discipline/Area/Program of Transfer
U of M Crookston	2010	Water Resource Management
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point	2007-2009	Natural Resources

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Natural Resources Technology, AAS

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	compute population, mortality, recruitment, and yield estimates of fish populations in using both existing data sets and data collected by the students.
Utilize appropriate technology	demonstrate the use of trap nets, seines, and electro-fishing equipment to gather fish population samples from area lakes and streams.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	explore the varied attitudes, values, and expectations of fisheries held by different cultures and segments of our society.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Demonstrate their understanding of the varied values and expectations of fisheries held by different segments of our society.
• Demonstrate their understanding of the different factors, both physical and biological, which collectively affect standing populations of fish in streams, lakes, and large rivers.
• Compute population, mortality, recruitment, and yield estimates of fish populations in using both existing data sets and data collected by the students.
• Demonstrate the use of trap nets, seines, and electro-fishing equipment to gather fish population samples from area lakes and streams.
• Develop oral presentations and written reports of existing conditions in a fishery and management recommendations to maintain or improve the fishery. These reports and presentations will target different audiences.  
• Create watershed-level assessment reports and management plans focused on maintaining or improving water quality.
• Describe safety practices for use when electro-fishing.
• Describe Indexes of Biotic Integrity (IBI) and compare it to diversity and species richness.
• Demonstrate techniques for net repair, care, and maintenance.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Discuss past fisheries management approaches, settlement patterns, and formation of governments which led to today’s fisheries management practices and legal constraints
• developments in common law and water law
• patterns of settlement in the U.S
• development of fisheries agencies and regulations
2. Explain the concepts of effective communication and the tools to achieve this
• discuss the role and importance of communication in fisheries management
• share the five Cs of effective communication
• review formal and informal feedback techniques
3. Outline the ecological factors affecting population dynamics in fisheries, resulting patterns, and their importance to management
• density dependent and density independent factors in populations
• fluctuations and dynamics in populations
• managing fisheries in complex and changing environments
4. Explain the role of assessment and modeling in fisheries management
• review the various fisheries assessment methods and their application and importance (with more detail in lab)
• review the various fisheries modeling methods and their application and importance (with more detail in lab)
5. Discuss and review management of targeted fish species and populations
• management of invasive aquatic species
• management of undesirable aquatic species
• identification and management of endangered species
• stocking and propagation of fish
6. Discuss the special considerations of managing coldwater streams for fisheries
• watershed considerations and stream habitat management
• unique physical environments
• fish population dynamics
7. Discuss the special considerations of managing warm water streams and large rivers for fisheries
• watershed considerations and habitat management
• fish population dynamics, growth and metabolism
• transportation and flood control
8. Discuss the special considerations of managing upper Midwest lakes for fisheries
• watershed considerations, habitat management, and development
• limnological processes
• fish population dynamics

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions

1. Review or introduce statistical concepts
• central limit theorem
• mean
• variance
• standard deviation
• standard error
2. Demonstrate net care and mending
• sources for and construction methods of nets
• net care and invasive species practices
• net repair including starter, ended, half-mesh, and sider knots.
3. Demonstrate age and growth analysis of fish using fish scales
• types and growth of fish scales
• identifying annuli to determine age
• measuring annuli to determine past growth
4. Demonstrate population estimation techniques used in fisheries management
• Direct counting techniques
• Species –area techniques
• Mark and recapture techniques
• Peterson population estimate
• Bailey and Chapman modifications to Peterson
• Schnable multiple recapture population estimation
5. Demonstrate techniques for comparing different populations
• Wilcox signed rank test
6. Demonstrate techniques for assessing angling mortality
• population mortality characteristics through time
• computation of equilibrium yields Thompson and Bell
7. Demonstrate techniques for assessing recruitment and yield
• length frequency relationships
• Walford plots
8. Demonstrate community assessments
• Proportional stock densities (PSD)
• Relative stock densities (RSD)
9. Demonstrate fish capture techniques and data collection methods in the field
• trap netting
• Electro-fishing
• Seining
• data recording conventions