Paddlefish Investigations, prepared by Thomas W. Gengerke, 1978

(1977) Paddlefish Investigations, prepared by Thomas W. Gengerke, 1978. Natural Resources, Department of

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Abstract

Paddlefish are indigenous to Iowa and are found throughout the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and the lower reaches of the Cedar, Des Moines, and Iowa Rivers. Formerly considered abundant throughout much of the Mississippi River Valley (Pflieger, 1975) and in some Gulf Coast drainages (Carlson and Bonislawsky, personal communication) its range has since diminished. Relict populations in the Great Lakes and Iowa natural lakes have been eliminated and viable sport and/or commercial fisheries remain prominent only within the impounded tributary rivers of the Tennessee River system, the upper portions of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, and the Arkansas River system. Commercial harvests from the upper Mississippi River, indicate significantly larger catches in downstream pools.