NFC Executive Director Bob Mallard Talks Brook Trout With Hallowed Waters
Hot on the heels of a similar podcast with Tom Rosenbauer of Orvis where NFC Executive Director Bob Mallard challenges Tom and Kirk Deeter of TU in regard to their criticism of the native fish movement, Bob jumps back into the lions den on Hallowed Waters with well-known and outspoken brown trout proponent Matt Supinski.
“Have we become gods trying to manipulate the natural world in favor of what we love? Have we loved Brook Trout to death and put them on the highest pedestal of glory and worship? Are we being to [sic] virtuous and over-zealous when we eradicate other fish for the sake of what we think is pure and natural?”
While the wording might indicate otherwise, the quote above was made in defense of wild nonnative fish living at the expense of wild native fish. The term “other fish” refers to “nonnative fish,” while “what we think is pure and natural” is a misleading reference to what we know are wild native fish…
While it’s all entertaining, the real meat, at least with regard to wild native fish conservation, starts around an hour in. There is however some interesting bantering over Matt’s use of terms such as “heroics” and “virtue signaling” in regard to native fish conservation, neither of which is an accurate portrayal of why folks in the native fish movement do what they do.
Pay close attention to where after challenging Bob in regard to the control/removal of nonnative trout to benefit native trout, Matt dodges a question from Bob as to whether he supports similar efforts in regard to nonnative smallmouth bass that are imperiling Atlantic salmon, one of Matt’s favorite species, in Canada’s Miramichi River…