Life history of paddlefish Polyodon spathula was investigated in the unimpounded, unchannelized stretch of Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota‐Nebraska during 1972–1979. Females were longer and heavier than males of similar age. The von Bertalanffy growth equation for males and females was Lt= 84.9{1 ‐ exp[‐0.133(t + 5.159)]} and Lt= 90.3{1 ‐ exp[−0.173(t + 2.215)]}, respectively, where L = eye‐to‐fork length in cm and t = age in years. The length‐weight (W, kg) relation for both sexes was logeW = 2.77 logeL −10.14. The sex ratio was 0.89 male to 1 female; few females had ovaries in advanced stages of maturation. The mean coefficient of condition (K = 105W/L) for all fish was 1.50. Annual total mortality was estimated to be 18% from catch‐curve analysis and the annual rate of exploitation was at least 7%. During summer, paddlefish were most often found in areas downstream from submerged sandbars where the current velocity was 0–0.3 m/second, and the depth was 2–3 m; fish were located in areas where the depth was at least 3 m during winter. Paddlefish moved extensively; many tagged fish moved farther than 50 km, and some traveled over 600 km within one year. Paddlefish should be managed consistently within biologically relevant regions.
__________Water Institute of Texas is at the University of Texas at San Antonio and was established to conduct research on the various factors related to water sustainability and their effect on the health and economic development of Texas and the Southern US.
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