Biologist crews will use non-lethal methods to capture adult brook trout from Tobin Harbor and Siskiwit Bay at the National Park, located off the northeast tip of Minnesota. Crews plan to collect about 300 eggs from each of 15 female brook trout at each location. Crews will also measure the age and size of the fish and collect tissue samples for genetic analysis. Fishery biologists from the Services Iron River National Fish Hatchery and Ashland Fishery Resources Office, both in northern Wisconsin, are leading the effort, with assistance from Marquette (Mich.) Biological Station, and Genoa (Wis.) National Fish Hatchery. The egg collection project is expected to be completed by October 30th.
Coaster brook trout once thrived in the near-shore waters of Lake Superior. Except for a small population at Isle Royale, Michigan, coasters are now nearly extirpated (no longer present) in the U.S. waters of the lake. Agencies responsible for managing Lake Superior agree that stocks of the native fish should be reestablished. The agencies have drafted a comprehensive plan for the restoration of the coaster that calls for restoring habitat, regulatory controls on existing populations and stocking of genetically appropriate strains.
Coaster brook trout are not listed as a threatened or endangered species, but few populations remain in Lake Superior. Therefore, the Service is following guidelines developed for breeding of endangered species to maintain genetic diversity of the captive brood stock. Fertilized eggs will be transported to the mainland within one day of collection and maintained at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery near LaCrosse, Wis. After the eggs hatch, they will be held in isolation for two years and undergo three health inspections. The disease free fish will then be moved to other hatcheries for use as parental brood stock.
The Service and other agencies previously collected brook trout eggs from Siskiwit Bay in 1995 and from Tobin Harbor in 1996. The fish are now held in national fish hatcheries. Tests of fish from the two locations indicate that they are distinct strains. Biologists hope to increase their genetic diversity before using them as parental brood stock to produce brook trout for restocking.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
