State forums focusing on trout stream management
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » The state Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting a serious of meetings to present an overview of the state’s ongoing approach to trout stream management and invite feedback from trout anglers about their expectations, experiences and preferences for improving trout stream management and the fishing experience in general.
A public forum took place recently at the Saratoga County 4H Center, and was the first of 16 meetings taking place across the state.
In Ballston Spa,DEC officials said the purpose of the meetings is to make people aware of results of a threeyear statewide study and to determine what parts of the existing strategies used by DEC could be improved, changed or even discarded.
According to DEC bureau chief Steve Hurst, officials devised the existing trout stream management strategy more than 30 years ago. “We thought it was time to take a look at how the strategies are working. It’s the first step in a long process,” he said. “We will be looking for common threads from the public about how we can do better.”
Fred Henson, the Region Five leader of the DEC’s Cold Water Fisheries unit, gave a 30-minute presentation, touching upon issues such as stream quality, harvesting rates, natural fish mortality rates, stream stocking and catch rates. He pointed out that, since the initial creation and implementation of the DEC trout stream management plan, many things have changed that have affected the environment and the anglers.
“Our goal has been to achieve an average ‘catch rate’ of one trout per every two hours of fishing,” Henson said.
The DEC looks at such things as the chemical fertility of streams, their “carrying” capacity, which refers to the number of fish that can safely be accommodated in the streams, and the physical habitat – which also included competition from other fish species.
Henson also talked about key influencers that have dramatically changed trout stream, which include changes in climate and weather patterns, the changing habits of anglers themselves, natural predation and water quality and changing surrounding environments.
Results of a three-year study revealed higher natural mortality rates, which Henson said could be the result of several factors and give the DEC an opportunity to evaluate the best ways to effectively control the influences that negatively impact on the environment – and the anglers as well.
Following the presentation, Henson opened the meeting to discussion and comment from the attendees. Issues raised included frustration with stream stocking and fishermen taking more than they are allowed to by law; fish type and size preferences, with some anglers wanting larger fish for harvesting and consuming and others preferring catch and release.
The DEC will follow up by sending surveys to all meeting attendees, compiling comments and concerns from all 16 meetings to determine what anglers are looking for in their fishing experiences and how best to balance the needs of the fishermen with the protection of important regional habitats.