Bull trout are one of my favorite fishes, not because they are tremendous battlers, but because they live in some of the most stunning scenery in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies. I’ve fished them from Montana to Washington, south to Oregon, and even in central Idaho, and there’s not an ugly place in the mix. I have not fished them in Alberta where they were just named as a species at risk, not good on any level, especially when bull trout are Alberta’s provincial fish. I have fished them over the mountain range from Alberta in British Columbia and found great fishing, and I imagine it’s just as good, or nearly as good, in Alberta. But, if bull trout are declining that means the provinces cutthroats, rainbows and browns likely are, too. That’s because bull trout require the healthiest of habitats. If bull trout are struggling those other fish, likely, will struggle, too. So, I have concerns about that fish in Alberta and after reading the following story, you likely will, too.
From The Calgary Herald: Not only is it Alberta’s provincial fish, but the bull trout is found in every major watershed of the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies. It has also experienced significant population declines throughout the province.
On Monday, the bull trout was one of 42 wildlife species assessed as at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COESWIC).
The committee, which met last week in Ottawa, officially declared the populations threatened in the Saskatchewan and Nelson rivers due to habitat deterioration and reduced habitat connectivity.
“No populations are abundant and more than half show evidence of decline,” said the committee’s report.
A threatened status means the fish could become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its extinction.
Bull trout — actually a char species with a large head and jaw, which is where it got its name — was first recognized as a species in trouble by the province in 1994. It led to a provincial management and recovery plan that included fishing restrictions.
In 2002, it was listed under Alberta’s Wildlife Act as a species of special concern.
A March report, however, showed that the populations have not