PFBC News: As research continues into causes and effects of smallmouth bass die-off, young of year analysis provides encouraging news

The latest PFBC news release indicates the recent "young of year" smallmouth bass fish kill in the Susqehanna and Juniata rivers may not have had as negative an impact as first feared.

“Young of the year abundance is a key predictor of adult fish populations in future years,” noted PFBC Executive Director Dr. Doug Austen. “We were particularly interested in the results of this year’s analysis as we continue to look at the unusual river conditions in 2005. The sampling this year took place before, during and after the most pronounced outbreaks of bacterial infection in young smallmouth. So even with some young bass mortality as a result of infection, the 2005 year class appears to be among the strongest we’ve documented in the last decade.”