{"id":6359,"date":"2012-02-22T12:26:52","date_gmt":"2012-02-22T18:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=6359"},"modified":"2012-02-23T16:18:38","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T22:18:38","slug":"texas-striped-bass-the-next-victims-of-the-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/02\/22\/texas-striped-bass-the-next-victims-of-the-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Striped Bass, the Next Victims of the Drought?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo couresy of Accident on Eclectic via Flickr http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nakrnsm\/<\/p>

Striped Bass cannot exist in Texas unless they are bred and stocked in the state's rivers and lakes.<\/p><\/div>\n

David Barer, an intern at StateImpact Texas, researched and reported this article.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n

The fish hatchery that supplies much of the striped bass in Texas may be the first state-run hatchery to close due to lack of water.\u00a0 This spring water levels at the Kemp Reservoir, the main source of water for the Dundee Fish hatchery near Wichita Falls, will be too low to support agricultural, municipal and hatchery use.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe draw water from a public water source; when those water sources are low, for the hatcheries\u2026we can\u2019t draw water into our structures\u2026that will impact our operations tremendously,\u201d Todd Engeling, Texas Parks and Wildlife\u2019s chief of inland fisheries told StateImpact Texas. \u201cWithout water we really can\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dundee hatchery will not be able to pull water from Lake Kemp if lake levels fall below 1125 feet above sea level, according to a TPWD press release. The lake is currently at 1126 feet, but agricultural activity will increase this spring. That will pull more water from the lake and bring levels down further unless the area sees major rainfall.<\/p>\n

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