Brown Trout V.S. Brook Trout

Brown Trout V.S. Brook Trout

German Brown Trout • Scientific name Salmotrutta • NON-NATIVE, usually native to the areas within Europe and western Asia • Arrived in the late 1800s • Identifiable by the coloring, a golden brown to a olive brown with yellowish sides • Back and sides have dark spots that are encircled with light yellow or white coloring

So why are they here? • Brown trout were widely introduced into North America around 1883 • The eggs were shipped to a local hatchery in Long Island, New York by a German named Baron Lucius von Behr • Von Behr had brought these over to provide a substitute for the brook trout (Salvelinusfontinalis) that were disappearing because of the encroachment of civilization on their wild, pristine habitat • This species is also found in Asia, New Zealand, South America, and Africa • Known to be the most widely distributed trout in the world

Not Only Found Here! Now, the brown trout is a prized and wary European game fish that is favored amongst most people The brown trout has several different varieties that can be found around the world Loch Leven trout found in Great Britain These fish are transplanted because they are able to thrive in warmer waters than some of the other species of trout that are found in open water However, there is one species of trout (sea trout) that is much larger than freshwater forms and provides good sport fishing

Whirling Disease The European trout has enacted a kind of revenge on the rainbow trout that eat them overseas It is in the form of one of their native parasites, a protozoan that causes the so called “whirling disease” The term whirling is used because of the fact that it makes its victims chase their tails Introduced around the 1950s, though had been laying dormant. However, for many unknown reasons in the 1990s the disease caught back on and began wiping out strains of both rainbow and cutthroat trout

The brown trout is considered the most successful fish introduction in the United States, largely due to the fact that the disease helped suppress the competitors Among some species that are losing out to the over-populated brown trout is the state fish of California, the California golden trout (Oncorhynchusmykissaguabonita) Also, their voracious appetite is causing endangerment to California’s rarer frog species like the mountain yellow-legged frog

Figure 1.1 Distribution Map for Whirling Disease that can be found within both trout and salmon. Everything in Greenis where it can be found, and Red is where it is not located yet

Figure 1.2 Life Cycle of Whirling Disease

Figure 1.3 What you can do to prevent the spread of Whirling Disease

Why Stock? • Many of the state fish and game officials have for over a century routinely transferred species from outside their normal range to diversify or even increase angling opportunities for the general public • Often, the native species will disappear (brook trout) • Widespread introduction of the brown trout has depressed or even eliminated populations of many of the local trout species in the western part of the United States, an area at one time rich in local native trout numbers • States are currently rethinking deliberate introductions that have an impact on their local species, and research is being conducted to evaluate non-native influences on local food chains.

Brook Trout Scientific Name Salvenlinusfontinalis Color patterns varies from the brown trout Color ranges from green to brown basic coloration (distinctive marbled pattern) Distinctive sprinkling of red dots that are surrounded by blue haloes

The Native One Brook trout are the true North American native, found as far south as Georgia all the way up to the Arctic Circle, and west into Washington and Oregon Can also be found within reaches of the Canadian provinces, South America, and Europe Brook trout were the only known species that the fly fishers chased in the eastern United States at one point in time Since the decline happened and the introduced brown trout came into direct competition, the brook trout started to lose it popularity in the late 19th century

Quick Facts • They are also known as speckled trout or squaretail • Brook trout is very popular as a freshwater game fish because of its variety of char and regarded flavor • Many people like to fish for it because of the fighting qualities when hooked • It has also been transplanted to many other parts of the world, because it can thrive inside cold, clean fresh water

Brook Trout Restoration • Local communities and DNR officials are trying to restore the native brook trout back into natural habitat since they are slowly disappearing due to brown trout introduction • One of the groups that are trying to do this is the Land O’ Sky Trout Unlimited • The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has begun a program to reintroduce the Southern Appalachian Brook Trout to as much of its original territory as possible • Their main goal is to re-establish stable reproducing populations in healthy streams and to ensure this unique genotype is protected and preserved • Signed in 1998 between T.U. North Carolina, Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park • The trout has lost approximately 75% of its range within the park, and some of the causes for this includes logging, subsequent stocking of non-native trout, and stream degradation from acidification • By 1975, the population with native trout had become mostly restricted to marginal headwater streams above 3,500 feet

Brown Trout V.S. Brook Trout