CHIPOLA STOCKED WITH NATIVE SHOAL BASS

In 2018, when Hurricane Michael bowled over the Florida Panhandle, it decimated the shoal bass population in the Chipola River. e Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates the population was depleted by 90 percent.

FWC is raising and stocking shoal bass to replenish stocks of this rare and native black bass. In May, 7,800 hatchery-raised shoal bass ngerlings were released into the river. is is the second consecutive year shoal bass were raised at the Blackwater Fisheries Research and Development Center near Holt, Fla. and then released into the Chipola River to enhance the wild population.

Shoal bass are one of four of Florida’s native black bass species, and this e ort marks the second time genetically pure shoal bass have been successfully raised at an FWC sh hatchery. Shoal bass are also a Florida Species of Greatest Conservation Need, which refers to native animals whose populations are of concern and are at risk or declining. e goal of raising and releasing these sh is to enhance the wild population to help maintain genetic purity and aid in the long-term conservation of this unique species of Florida black bass.

e Chipola River originates just north of Marianna, owing south for 95 miles through Jackson, Calhoun and Gulf counties where it joins the Apalachicola River. Currently, a catch-and-release-only regulation is in e ect for shoal bass on the Chipola River and its tributaries. Any shoal bass that are caught must be released alive immediately and possession is prohibited.

For more information, visit MyFWC/Freshwater.