Brook Trout are a Char, but Charr are not a Brook Trout...
A rare Maine Arctic charr
“Brook trout are relatively common in Maine. Splake are a hatchery-raised hybrid. Arctic charr, on the other hand, are an exceedingly rare fish, occurring in just 12 native waters in Maine. They are also a state level Tier 1 (Highest Priority) Species of Greatest Conservation Need.”
As part of his conservation guest column in the Bangor Daily News, NFC Executive Director Bob Mallard challenges the fact that Maine lumps rare Arctic charr in with relatively common brook trout and hatchery-raised hybrid splake from a management standpoint.
“DIF&W defends its position in regard to the multi-species definition of brook trout that includes splake and Arctic charr by saying that anglers cannot tell one from the other. However, this is not how they treat other similar-looking species.”
Note: The article was submitted with the title, "Brook Trout are a Char, but Charr are not a Brook Trout," and the first paragraph was added by the editorial staff and has some biologically inaccurate statements. Specifically, Arctic charr and brook trout are related, and at the family and genus level.