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As part of the Kootenay Lake Action Plan to recover kokanee stocks, some bull trout will be removed from the Duncan River, below the Duncan Dam, this summer, according to a news release from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRO).
“Other actions to recover kokanee stocks in Kootenay Lake include continued stocking of kokanee eggs, increasing angling opportunities for bull trout, and removing bull trout from the Kaslo/Keen and Hamill creeks in early fall. Removal of bull trout is a short-term strategy to improve kokanee recovery,” the news release states.
Bull trout prey on kokanee and are seen as a threat to kokanee recovery. |
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“Bull trout spawning populations increased by more than 100 per cent between 2015 and 2017, with approximately 3,500 bull trout spawners in 2017 alone,” the news release states.” The health of the Kootenay Lake Gerrard rainbow trout and bull trout depend on the health of kokanee populations. Modest removals of bull trout will help recover kokanee stocks, which will benefit both rainbow trout and bull trout in the long term.”
The 2016 Kootenay Lake Action Plan was developed by an advisory team with representatives from the ministry, Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C., the BC Wildlife Federation and First Nations. The advisory team recommended additional stocking and predator management in May 2018. |
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