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Atlantic
salmon, not for rainbow trout. Rainbow trout aren't meant to
be there at all, let alone be a targeted fish for clients of
the local outfitters and their clients.
Rainbow trout have been in Newfoundland for a long time. They
were first introduced to the Avalon Peninsula more than a
century ago, in that great wave of deliberate exotic species
introductions that saw rainbow trout established in Europe,
South America, South Africa, India, Australia, and New
Zealand, and of course in the Eastern part of North America..
The species spread on the Avalon Peninsula, but not far,
moving to lakes and rivers within some thirty miles of their
point of introduction. For many years the populations appeared
stable and largely non-threatening.
In the past twenty five years, however, the situation in the
province has changed. Fish farms based on rainbow or steelhead
stock have been established in a number of locations along the
south shore of the province. These farms were heavily
subsidized by tax dollars to encourage rural employment in
areas where few other opportunities exist.
Unfortunately, experience here and abroad has shown that
escapements of farmed fish at some stage or another are
virtually inevitable. Wherever in the world salmonids have
been farmed, whether in Chile, Europe, New Zealand, or on our
own Pacific coast, predators, storms or vandals have broken
the net cages, allowing fish to escape. In Newfoundland, with
an extensive history of naturally or artificially introduced
exotic species, the impact of introducing rainbows into the
local environment, particularly streams containing Atlantic
salmon fry and parr, was a matter of serious concern. The
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, responsible for the
contradictory tasks of both encouraging fish farming and
protecting the wild fish, attempted to reduce the risk by
insisting that the farmed stocks be triploids, chromosome
altered sterile fish incapable of spawning.
If fish farms were to be established, stocking triploid fish
was good policy, but it did not end the concern. First, some
fertile fish can sometimes be found among the triploid stock.
Second, triploids are a more expensive stock than fertile
fish, and once the farms were established, there has been
steady pressure by industry sources to lift the triploid only
restriction. When the economics of the fish farms are often
marginal, and when it is often an important source of
employment in the area, this pressure is hard to resist.
So, with rainbows turning up on the Northern Peninsula of
Newfoundland, anglers naturally assumed that the escaped fish
had moved westward and northward along the coast. In fact, a
few years ago recreational fishers had enjoyed some excellent
sea fishing for escaped rainbows in the Bay d'Espoir area.
However, rarely are things so simple in fisheries management.
Rainbows have also escaped from fish farms in Prince Edward
Island, as well as from farms elsewhere on the East Coast. For
rainbows of steelhead origin, the swim across the Gulf of St.
Lawrence from Prince Edward Island to the Northern Peninsula
of Newfoundland would be a relatively simple matter. While a
resident population had clearly established itself in one
river in Gros Morne Park, the presence of rainbows in other
rivers may or may not indicate that the fish are established.
Some could be the original escaped fish from PEI. Further,
even the presence of spawning fish may not lead to the
population taking hold. Even with a fish as hardy as the
rainbow, not all introductions succeed.
DFO is currently attempting to get better information on the
problem of rainbow distribution in Newfoundland. To do this,
the cooperation of recreational anglers is essential. Despite
local advertising for fishermen to freeze and turn in any
Newfoundland caught rainbow trout to fisheries officials, only
approximately a dozen fish have been obtained so far. While
even a dozen fish is helpful, the information available to
date from such a small sample is insufficient to shed much
light on the extent of the problem, let alone what measures
might be needed to protect Atlantic salmon stocks in the area.
In order to get a big enough sample for meaningful data
collection, we need more anglers to send any rainbows they
catch to DFO. To do this, call Don at (709) 637-4281 or Neila
at (709) 772-4518 for pick up by DFO or instructions on how to
send the fish to them.
Yes, we know rainbows are great on the barbeque. But for now
pass up on the eating in favour of the science—and to help
safeguard Newfoundland’s Atlantic salmon fisheries..
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