MOSCOW: Thousands of rainbow trout were released into a number of Nanaimo’s ponds and lakes as part of the The Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C.’s ongoing efforts to improve fish stocks and recreational fishing opportunities on Vancouver Island.
The society releases hundreds of thousands of trout, each averaging about 250 grams in size, from the society’s Vancouver Island Trout Hatchery in Duncan in about 120 lakes on the Island each spring and fall. The society works in concert
with the Ministry of the Environment, which assesses the lakes and gives the society stock requests based on the carrying capacity of each lake, the current fish populations and the amount of fishing each lake sustains.
All the released fish are sterile so they don’t compete with the wild populations in each lake and so more of their energy can go into growth rather than reproduction, which leads to larger fish for anglers to catch.
Graham Nessman, a fish culturist with the society, said Nanaimo’s Diver Lake, two of the Colliery Dams, Long Lake and Green Lake were each stocked with 500 rainbow trout on Thursday.
He said it was the second stocking of each of the lakes so far this spring, and another stocking is scheduled for May.
“This year, for the first time, 100 per cent of the revenue generated from recreational freshwater fishing licences will be directed to the society to invest in services aimed at improving freshwater fisheries in B.C.,” Nessman said while stocking Diver Lake.
