Arizona Community Fishing Program Fish Habitat Improvement Project 2022-2024
The Arizona Game and Fish Department's Community Fish Program (CFP) has expanded from 21 waters in 11 communities in 2014 to 53 waters in 23 communities around the State of Arizona. Based on a recent creel survey in 2020, the CFP currently serves an estimated 137,000 anglers.
Objective 8 in the CFP Vision Document is to “improve fish habitat and reduce stressors within CFP waters”. In addition, management objectives for all CFP Lakes includes maintaining a catch rate of 0.5 fish per hour and angler satisfaction at or above 85%. In 2022, an habitat enhancement plan was proposed and approved for eleven lakes within the CFP due to catch per unit effort (CPUE) falling short of the lake management plan goal of 0.5 fish per hour in the 2020 creel survey. Many of these lakes were known to have double crested cormorant depredation problems as well.
In two years, with the help of dozens of volunteers, up to eight cities and towns and 5 different works units within the Department, the Reservoir Habitat Program was able to install 432 structures including 165 Georgia Cubes, 100 Mossback Safe Havens, 155 Mossback Spawning Beds and 12 Burton’s Buckets into 12 lakes within the CFP to boost angler catch rates and minimize cormorant predation We’ll share and discuss this successful effort and all the challenges and adjustments that were made to pull it off.