The Provincial Government is taking new measures to recover the kokanee stock in Kootenay Lake. This summer bull trout will be removed from some of their tributary spawning rivers.
The trout pray on kokanee and their spawning populations have increased significantly between 2015 and 2017. Mike Ramsay is the Associate Director of the Fish and Aquatic Habitat Branch with the Province. He says keeping the bull trout numbers down will ultimately help their population as well.
Ramsay says the bull trout have started to find other food sources since kokanee numbers have gone down, which causes their body shape and characteristics to change.
He says their removal will happen in select areas.
This comes after unprecedented low kokanee numbers.
Last year there were only 18,000 spawning kokanee. Numbers have previously ranged from 250,000 to nearly 2.2 million.
Both populations will be assessed this fall, however it may take a few years before kokanee numbers are improved.