03-22-2018, 02:53 PM
[quote Fishassassin]After reading all the info on the post and all the responses I have two direct questions. Exactly what size range of lake trout are you suggesting we harvest? Secondly, how serious of a problem is this to the fishery?[/quote]
As mentioned, a laker pup is a lake trout (actually in the char family but we still call it a trout) under 28 inches. The problem is the younger pups are a very aggressive feeding fish that thrive even after being released multiple times, this leads to overpopulation and competition of resources for other species and stunted growth of their own species. Look at it this way, if 5 fish are eating the same slice of bread they may survive but not grow as large or as quickly, but if one or two fish are eating the same slice of bread then they will grow bigger and more quickly. Just in the last 10 years the number of mature lake trout is down by 30%. The laker pups are increasing in number by almost double the rate of the kokanee, nearly 50% of kokanee die when released and this adds to the problem.
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As mentioned, a laker pup is a lake trout (actually in the char family but we still call it a trout) under 28 inches. The problem is the younger pups are a very aggressive feeding fish that thrive even after being released multiple times, this leads to overpopulation and competition of resources for other species and stunted growth of their own species. Look at it this way, if 5 fish are eating the same slice of bread they may survive but not grow as large or as quickly, but if one or two fish are eating the same slice of bread then they will grow bigger and more quickly. Just in the last 10 years the number of mature lake trout is down by 30%. The laker pups are increasing in number by almost double the rate of the kokanee, nearly 50% of kokanee die when released and this adds to the problem.
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