Wednesday September 14, 2022
KPIC —
ODFW biologists are radio-tagging smallmouth bass in the Coquille River to learn more about these invasive non-native fish negatively impacting fall chinook salmon.
Captured smallmouth bass eight inches or larger get a surgically implanted radio tag that can be tracked for up to 18 months depending on battery life. Biologists then use radio telemetry equipment to track movements of the tagged fish.
Tagging efforts are concentrated in the South Fork Coquille River where much of the smallmouth bass population occurs. Some bass may be tagged in other portions of the Coquille Basin.
It is important to know when and where these fish move to overwintering areas in the Coquille, and when they move back upriver in the spring, ODFW stated. Timing information may help biologists remove more smallmouth bass during electroshocking, or experiment with alternative removal methods such as trapping.