Hear From a Yellowstone Expert
For the purposes of creating this site, an email was sent to the National Park Service in regards to the reduction of the Cutthroat trout population due to Lake trout in Yellowstone Lake.
Matt Nagel of the National Park Service at Yellowstone National Park replied:
"Regarding lake trout, for a number of years now both Park Service staff, and more recently contracted fisherman, have been netting and removing late trout from Yellowstone Lake. For the past few years I believe a few hundred thousand have been removed each season. Additionally a few females have been re-released with radio tracking tags to hopefully assist park biologists with locating lake trout spawning areas, and it is in the works to try killing the eggs in these areas before they hatch.
Park visitors who fish Yellowstone Lake are required under park regulations to either remove any lake trout they catch, or if they don't want to keep the fish to kill it, puncture some bladder that would prevent it from floating and thus becoming a possible bear attractant, and throw it back in the lake.
Through these efforts fisheries staff believe they are seeing positive results regarding cutthroat trout numbers. You can find more information at http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/fisheries_issues.htm and http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/fishing.htm."
Thank you to Matt Nagel and all of the members of the National Park Service for your information!
Matt Nagel of the National Park Service at Yellowstone National Park replied:
"Regarding lake trout, for a number of years now both Park Service staff, and more recently contracted fisherman, have been netting and removing late trout from Yellowstone Lake. For the past few years I believe a few hundred thousand have been removed each season. Additionally a few females have been re-released with radio tracking tags to hopefully assist park biologists with locating lake trout spawning areas, and it is in the works to try killing the eggs in these areas before they hatch.
Park visitors who fish Yellowstone Lake are required under park regulations to either remove any lake trout they catch, or if they don't want to keep the fish to kill it, puncture some bladder that would prevent it from floating and thus becoming a possible bear attractant, and throw it back in the lake.
Through these efforts fisheries staff believe they are seeing positive results regarding cutthroat trout numbers. You can find more information at http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/fisheries_issues.htm and http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/fishing.htm."
Thank you to Matt Nagel and all of the members of the National Park Service for your information!