Hmmm...interesting.

I'm curious whether any studies have ever been done that might shed light on the SIZE of fish that the river otter prefers to attack and eat.

Before I retired, one of the many hats I wore in my job was I was the Integrated Pest Management specialist at the Federal Building in Kansas City, MO. The way I solved pest problems with IPM was to first identify the species of pest involved in the complaint, then research the creature's ecological needs, then take steps to physically remove critical resources that allowed it to continue entering the building, or breeding/living inside and/or around it.

The Integrated Pest Management approach is far more "lethal" in terms of solving any pest problem long-term. Take cockroaches, for example. With old-style pest control methods (beer-gut Bubba with a pump can spraying the baseboards) all Bubba is doing is mindlessly throwing dangerous poisons into YOUR living environment. Beer-gut Bubba is attacking only the SYMPTOM of the problem (and perhaps not so mindless, because he has signed you up for a very expensive, never-ending monthly treatment plan).

But Bubba with his pump can is not correcting the fundamental cause of the problem. He is not resolving issues such as closing off entry points, sealing off interior harbor and breeding sites; Bubba is not recommending that you alter your housekeeping practices to deny the insect access to food and liquids 24/7.

There's a rule in nature: If there's anything to eat, something will come along and eat it. Might be nothing more sizeable but bacteria or fungii, but in nature fiood rarely goes wasted.

It could be that big largemouth bass are the easiest prey item for river otters to catch. (Easier than juvenile bass that find it easier to conceal themselves in cover.) Thus by deliberately managing a pond so that it produces huge trophy largemouth, landowners are unwittingly setting the table for a Thanksgiving Dinner visit by river otters.

IF it is true that otters prefer trophy-size bass for food, to the point where the otter seldom visits (and does not negatively impact) ponds containing smaller fish, then one solution is for Florida landowners to shift their focus away from growing lunker largemouth bass. Deny the otters their preferred food item by managing the ponds for panfish species.

With IPM you do not concern yourself so much with killing the pest in question. You look at ending its presence permanently *in your own immediate environment*. So in the hypothetical scenario I've described, managing a pond for panfish doesn't kill the otter. It frustrates the otter, forcing it to MOVE ELSEWHERE in search of those big fish it needs to survive. You don't care where the otter goes, just so it leaves your pond alone.

But if applied, a solution such as this requires the pond owner give up his or her emotional (or financial) need for raising trophy largemouth bass. Good luck on that.

Ahh...the increased human population of Florida. Tell me about it. My ex-wife's kin live down there, so I used to visit your state almost annually. I love that big highway sign somebody once put up along the Interstate, intended for north-bound motorists.

"Leaving Florida? Take a friend!"


Joe
"Better small than not at all."