Anadromous Fish Index

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Anadromous Fish Index-- 
Anadromous fish live much or most of their lives in ocean waters but return to streams to spawn; other species-- semi-anadromous-- live in estuarine waters but also return to fresh water to spawn. Waters where anadromous fish spawning occurs are particularly important to the State's fishery resources, and the success of spawning is critical far beyond the immediate area where reproduction occurs.

To develop this indicator, five species of anadromous fish--American Shad, Alewife, Blueback Herring, Hickory Shad, and Striped Bass -- and two semi-anadromous species -- White Perch and Yellow Perch -- were examined for all river systems sampled under the Index of Biotic Integrity sampling program. An index was developed based on the mean catch per unit effort (CPUE) of anadromous and semi-anadromous species combined. The CPUE was calculated for every site on a yearly basis and then ranked into five groupings. The mean rank for each river was calculated and multiplied by two to adjust it to a scale ranging from 1 to 10. This index can serve as a fair measure of the value of juvenile anadromous/semi-anadromous fish habitat for each river system.

For Maryland's Clean Water Action Plan Unified Watershed Assessment, watersheds were placed in Category I (needs restoration) if they were in the lower 25% of scores for the applicable watersheds for the Anadromous and Semi-anadromous Fish Index.

Indicator Use

Watersheds with streams where anadromous and semi- anadromous spawn are particularly vulnerable to landscape disturbances that could result in physical, chemical or biological degradation. This suggests that extra care be taken in clearing and grading in the vicinity of the streams. These watersheds may also contain important opportunities for conservation activities of both governmental and private-sector organizations.

URL or FTP address:	http://www.dnr.state.md.us/watersheds/surf/indic/md/md_anfish_indmap.html	Name of featured page:	Anadromous Fish Index
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Select a State (not required for a general only entry) Click on the "Show Choices" button above after selecting a state to show Watershed, Metropolitan Area, Large Ecosystem, and National Estuary Program choices.	Maryland
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