GROWTH OF WHITE CATFISH IN CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO-SAN-JOAQUIN DELTA

California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is inhabited by one of the s lowest growing populations of white catfish, Ameiurus catus, yet repor ted. White catfish in the south and central delta grow more slowly tha n fish in the north and west delta. At age 8, white catfish in the sou th and central delta reach only 253 mm fork length; fish from the nort h and west delta are 284 mm long at the same age. After age 4, males g row faster than females in the south and central delta, but not in oth er areas. Lack of an adequate forage base for larger fish and high pop ulation densities may be responsible for slow growth. While angling re gulations have been changed to increase harvest and, potentially, redu ce density, meaningful increases in catch would probably require chang es in allowable fishing gear that may adversely impact other species.