Wild lake trout have been found in Lake Erie, marking a significant milestone in lake trout rehabilitation efforts. The State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the identification of wild fry collected by the DEC’s Lake Erie Fisheries Research Unit this spring. DEC officials said the discovery of wild lake trout fry is a historic restoration indicator for a population that was once plentiful, but collapsed due to overfishing, habitat degradation, and invasive species.
The recent discovery is the result of an acoustic telemetry study, conducted by DEC expert staff and partners, which identified potential lake trout spawning areas in eastern Lake Erie. On May 14th, DEC’s Lake Erie Fisheries Research Unit staff collected multiple, recently hatched fry in fry traps on a rock reef about five miles west of Barcelona Harbor. In July, Dr. Chris Wilson at Trent University positively identified the fry as lake trout through genetic bar-coding.
Lake trout were once the top predator in Lake Erie with records of fish measuring in excess of 50 inches and weighing 75 pounds. Commercial fishing for lake trout in Lake Erie began in the late-1700s, and by the late 1800s, the population had significantly declined. By the 1930s, the commercial fishery had all but ceased, and by 1965, lake trout were considered wiped out from Lake Erie.
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