I think my post was clear. I did not recommend any course of action and do not think it can be fairly said that I did. I will be clear.

The closer a pond is to an aquaculture operation (some factors set out above) the more pounds of fish per acre it can support.

You have to know what to do and when to do it to have success under those conditions.

Very specific -- phosphate pit ponds in parts of Fla. support thousands of pounds of fish per acre with little mgt. That is a real specific fact from fisheries biologists who have worked them for years.

Any assessment of a population has to take into account #s stocked , recruitment, growth or loss of weight , and morts. Morts. for HSB come from natural causes , heat/temps (in the south), fish stress from fishing , and those taken out and eaten. Below is some info on HSB morts in southern ponds and resiv. with little fishing pressure.

"Minimum survival estimates of hybrid striped bass in this study were comparable
to survival estimates from most reservoir studies. For example, survival of hybrids in
Alabama from age 1 to age 2 was 30.9% (Moss and Lawson 1982). These fish were
similar in size to our Phase II fish, which exhibited a minimum of 37.5% survival after
348 days in pond 2."

The ranges were from 16% to 88% survival per year. I think it safe to say that over 3 years in a southern pond many of the HSB will be morts. from one of the above methods.

No one suggested having 1000 lbs of HSB per acre in a pond. The recommendation (not mine but as I understand it) was 200 HSB per acre stocked as advanced fingerlings. If 100 (which is a stretch) live to 3 yrs and 3 lbs you will have 300 lbs of HSB per acre which is manageable (if at all possible) in a well managed pond with feeding and aeration. If the cause of death is heat (as is often the case in southern ponds) then it is likely to kill them all (or most) if it is 10 or 200 per acre. See the results of the study I posted recently where the heat resulted in the death of most of the HSB/LMB and BG of larger size.

So no one will misunderstand this post I do not run our ponds anywhere near capacity and do not suggest that you do unless you are both a very good mgr. and understand the consequences of error. But take the time to understand the principles at work and insist on having as many facts possible first (if you can get them) - not just half of them.