Page 36 - 2021 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

Paddlefish are also known to have long lifespans, with ly limited addition of young fish into these populations.
the oldest Oklahoma paddlefish estimated at 29 years. Another finding is that in all native fish species target-
We now know that these native species, as well as the ed by bowfishers, the largest individuals are females.
others that are also popular bowfishing targets, grow And the females mature later and outlive the males on
more slowly, are less productive and are more easily average, making the largest and oldest fish predominant-
depleted, requiring many more years to rebuild than for- ly females. The males of these bowfished species do not
merly realized. This recognition requires more conscien- compete for spawning with females, so they don’t have
tious management from ODWC and other agencies. to grow larger. Larger females benefit from delaying their
A second finding is that reproductive success of many maturity, growing larger and having more eggs.
of these long-lived native species is not guaranteed The bottom line is that bowfishers targeting the larg-
every year but is often episodic, occurring strongly in est fish of a species will unfortunately be taking females,
one year but more commonly weakly or not at all in a much less sustainable occurrence than if they were
most other years. These species may require specific targeting males, as hunters often do with deer, elk, and
spawning and rearing conditions (like high spring river turkeys. And unlike those land-based species, where, for
flows allowing a spawning migration to a certain habi- example, antlers identify the sex, there are no reliable
tat) for a strong reproduction year. These optimal con- ways for bowfishers to identify female fish from males
ditions are not met in most years. But because they live before they are shot and killed, other than by size.
a long time, they can persist even with only occasionally This pattern of taking larger, older female fishes has a
or irregularly having a successful reproductive year. All detrimental effect on a population’s harvest sustainabili-
of the native nongame species described here typically ty. Therefore, it is important to somehow limit the removal
fall into this category. It was often assumed that these of these older, larger females, which have been shown in
fishes reproduced successfully in most or all years. Now other fish species to be important to the long-term repro-
we know that management must consider the potential- ductive success and health of the fish population.
WilDliFeDePartmeNt.Com keetoN JoNeS/reaDerS' PHoto SHoWCaSe 2015

A bowfisher enjoys the sport in the Cimarron River in Kingfisher County.
Billy PoPe/FliCkr CC-ByND2.0

People attending the Department’s Wildlife Expo have a chance to Few states have bowfishing education programs.
experience bowfishing.
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