The Bull Trout Show
03 - The Life And Times Of The Iconic Native Bull Trout with Lorne Fitch
Would you know a bull trout if you saw one? Most anglers fishing the streams of Alberta’s eastern slopes have never seen or caught a bull trout. Yet this now rare and threatened species once populated the streams of Bighorn Country by the thousands. The culprit behind this extirpation since the 1950’s is human interference, including overfishing, introduction of non-native species, draining of wetlands for agriculture, industrial development in the forest reserve, and recreational activity. Just a bit of silt in a stream can smother eggs in a spawning bed or redd. Hanging culverts where roads cross creeks can prevent fish from migrating up or down stream to feed or spawn. One person with intimate knowledge of the life and trials of the native bull trout is biologist, author, and conservation advocate Lorne Fitch. In speaking with The Bull Trout Show’s host Cheryl Croucher, Lorne describes the bull trout as looking like “a torpedo with fins”.
Would you know a bull trout if you saw one? Most anglers fishing the streams of Alberta’s eastern slopes have never seen or caught a bull trout. Yet this now rare and threatened species once populated the streams of Bighorn Country by the thousands. The culprit behind this extirpation since the 1950’s is human interference, including overfishing, introduction of non-native species, draining of wetlands for agriculture, industrial development in the forest reserve, and recreational activity. Just a bit of silt in a stream can smother eggs in a spawning bed or redd. Hanging culverts where roads cross creeks can prevent fish from migrating up or down stream to feed or spawn. One person with intimate knowledge of the life and trials of the native bull trout is biologist, author, and conservation advocate Lorne Fitch. In speaking with The Bull Trout Show’s host Cheryl Croucher, Lorne describes the bull trout as looking like “a torpedo with fins”.