Abstract

Dip-nets, test traps and experimental drop samplers were evaluated for their potential to predict crayfish (Procambarus spp.) yields and size distribution to harvest. Field studies were conducted at the Rice Research Station, LSU Agricultural Center, Crowley, Louisiana, between 1991 and 1996 in 82 (0.16 – 0.2 ha) earthen impoundments. Fields were managed to stimulate rice-crayfish systems typical of the southwestern and south-central Louisiana. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determinate the relationship among catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) of sampling gear (alone and in combination) with respect to yield in weight (kg/ha), yield in number (crayfish/ha) and size distribution in harvest. Relative abundance of crayfish as determined by each gear was compared to size distribution at harvest to develop predictive capabilities for assessing the potential of ponds to yield sub-marketable ('stunted') populations. Ponds with recruitment during October to December were shown to yield 800 to 1,000 kg/ha, based on December dip-net sweeps of 0.25 to 1.5 crayfish/sweep or a December test trap catch of 0.5 to 11 crayfish/trapset. Regressions models predicted a smaller size harvest with increasing number of crayfish caught per sample. Multiple gear assessments did not produce a significant improvement over the predictive capability of the gear when used alone.

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