Why Native Fish Are in the Trouble They are In
“[brown trout] are a superior trout... More fun to catch.. It bothers me when folks say they are invasive. ”
While the title of this recent podcast was bad enough, what was stated in the podcast was ever worse… That much of this came from Kirk Deeter, the Editor-in-Chief of TROUT Media for Trout Unlimited shows just how far we have to go in regard to embracing true fish conservation.
To hear a senior Trout Unlimited employee challenge the use of rotenone to restore native fish, was another example of fishing trumping fish, and conservation taking a backseat to recreation. Ditto for the defense of naturalized nonnatives.
And comparing introduced nonnative species to human “immigrants,” is a slippery slope. When we anthropomorphize, animals lose…
Tom, a well-known spokesman for Orvis, challenged the reclamation of the upper Gibbon in Yellowstone National Park. Done to restore native grayling and cutthroat, this is the National Park Service’s mandate - resource first...
“There’s discussions now about [restoring] grayling in Michigan... To me, the trout fishing culture is about brown trout in Michigan”
I was admittedly stunned to hear a senior staff member for TU challenge attempts to restore rare and isolated Arctic graying in Michigan.
Kirk went on to challenge those who believe that “every brown trout in the country should be eliminated.” Personally, I’d like to know who those people are as I have never met them.
Next on the chopping block was C&R, which is “just a Band-Aid for habitat.”
In total, it was a shocking reminder of how hard it is going to be to promote native fish conservation when industry and advocacy leaders are working against it.
Bob Mallard