That's exactly why any plan to eradicate "invasive" trout species to favor native brooks trout is a fool's folly.
Fisheries science is objective, how you feel about fisheries science is subjective. If my efforts to start a discussion about fisheries scientist’s findings that can be used to better the management of native brook trout offend you, you don’t have to read In the conservation forum. These aren’t my ideas to be clear, it would be a lot easier for you to discredit them if they were based on how you feel about your favorite fish/fishing but these ideas are expressed in the literature I post, the scientific brook trout conservation conferences I have attended, and are actual management concerns/ recommendations from federal science agencies you don’t hear about at the fly shop. So please if excuse me if I don’t have 12 years of history telling you what I rub on my fry flies to qualify for an educated discussion about it conservation.
I personally think this is an interesting discussion. One obviously met with strong opposition in Pennsylvania. Broadly speaking, I think it's an issue when trying to get anglers to understand the importance of not moving species from one water body to another. There's a little bit of "do as I say, not as I do" that presents a problem. Whether it's some relatively new Asian species or a baitfish native to western PA, we have a messaging problem due to decades of supporting the manual movement of species to overcome. I think that has to start somewhere.
Who says I don’t want to remove snake heads? Their invasive too, you just don’t feel as warm and fuzzy about them as you do invasive salmonids.
I NEVER WOULD HAVE FOUND THIS! thanks!!
"Pennsylvania's trout growers produced trout valued at $16.4 million in 2015. Commercial trout producers sold 1.23 million pounds of trout, valued at $6.1 million during 2015, ranking third nationally behind Idaho and North Carolina."
Can’t imagine what the $12.4 million for total stocking program cost I saw in the 2009 document would have done for both fishing and conservation if even half that money was spent annually for a couple decades to buy conservation easements that double as angler access.
First of all, I really don't care...
Only you and silverfox.
That's a shame. It's also only one side of the argument. Understand there are others who feel differently.
That's kind of like saying "drunk driving is illegal, but it happens all the time". Let's just forget this whole law thing! Bottoms up boys! 🍻🤣
If not one wants to talk about it I am not offended, if that’s the case then it’s just a fact. Take the contributions of the scientific community or leave them, as long as falsehoods aren’t being spread. I wouldn’t expect many people would initially want to talk about something like this either because they don’t know about it, that’s why the field of scientific communication/public outreach is being prioritized/funded so much right now. You talk about this stuff and people think you think it’s possible to or want to rotenone all 86,000 stream miles in PA. When really all I want is for the people to have the facts and make their own decision without people spreading lies that make them feel good about what they want swimming in our streams for fishing purposes. People can acknowledge they value conservation of native species, a stable food web and protecting biodiversity and are ok with native brook trout receiving real science based management in 1 or 2 high value watersheds which may or may not include invasive trout removal. Or people can just say “I understand brown trout are an invasive species and harmful to brook trout and the larger food web but at the end of the day conservation is not my number one goal and I prefer to fish for brown trout.”
And to be clear there is nothing wrong with fishing for brown trout I do it and love it. And wanting to manage for native brook trout in a few places does not mean you hate brown trout either. I own conservation books in brown trout in there native range where ironically brook trout are invasive and an issue. I admire them when I catch them here in PA. I still respect them as beautiful creatures because my fishing for them here is just that, fishing not conservation. I’m not stocking them, propagating them, or advocating for regs/policies to manage for them. You can enjoy brown trout in regards to your fishing and even respect them and admire them
That's a distinction people clearly have a hard time wrapping their heads around.
Thank you, going to have to collect this stuff in bits and pieces I get the idea. I don’t think PA fish and boat even knows how many privately owned hatcheries there are and who’s slinging what where. I’ll probably be able to find info based on PAFB hatcheries, co-ops like you posted, pay operations that have websites and are on googles maps and sportsman’s clubs but they large amount of private/spring pond ones after that are likely not listed anywhere I’m guessing.
Pfbc has little to no jurisdiction over private trout hatcheries, similar to pgc and deer farms.
