State creates plan to support trout

Connecticut’s first wild trout management plan aims to conserve and expand habitat for brook and brown trout and boost opportunities for anglers.

The recently released 10-year plan (bit.ly/3tvfdhs) was driven in part by the high value state residents place on wild trout populations, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Also, healthy wild trout populations mean a healthy overall environment, the plan says.

“The presence of wild trout provides tangible evidence that a set of physical, chemical and biological parameters are in perfect alignment,” according to the plan. “An alignment is manifested in the sounds of water cascading over moss-covered rocks crisscrossing a forested landscape absent of modern-day conveniences.”

Deforestation and dams built to drive mills during the state’s early settlement decimated populations of Connecticut’s only salmonid species — brook trout and Atlantic salmon. The salmon were wiped out, but brook trout retain self-sustaining populations.

The non-native brown trout also has established self-sustaining numbers in Connecticut’s streams and rivers. Reproduction from feral rainbow trout has been documented in several places, but to date, documentation of a self-sustaining population has been elusive, according to DEEP.

A statewide survey spanning 1988-95 found wild trout in 4,000 miles of stream, but only 300 miles held enough wild fish to support a significant amount of catch and release fishing.

A survey update in 2018-19 found a 36% reduction in locations with brook trout. Researchers also found that in locations with wild brook trout, average densities had fallen significantly from prior sampling.

To conserve and boost populations of wild trout, the DEEP plan calls for:

Negotiating with stakeholders in developing water use, flow and groundwater withdrawal agreements.

Working with local governments to encourage sound land-use practices near wild trout waters, including techniques to compensate for increases in impervious cover.

Evaluating and identifying where road salt use may harm wild trout.

Working to ensure unrestricted passage of wild trout.

Monitoring populations of wild trout to shape policies and rules

Mitigating disease and competition from non-native species, stocked fish and harvesting.

Creating or identifying sustainable funding sources dedicated to wild trout protection.

Promoting increased recreational fishing opportunities for wild trout.

Restoring wild trout to waters where they have been wiped out.