That fat trout sizzling in an Idaho skillet last
summer might have been a species on the edge of extinction. Even
though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed bull trout as
threatened under the Endangered Species Act last June, that doesn’t
mean anglers know what the fish looks
like.
Almost 70 percent of those surveyed while
fishing on the Middle Fork of the Boise River last fall failed to
identify bull trout, confusing them with similar-looking brook or
lake trout. Dan Schill, an Idaho Fish and Game fisheries biologist,
says he wasn’t surprised: “They see the bull trout the least, so
they’re the hardest to identify.”
To help
fishers spot the threatened fish, Idaho Fish and Game has teamed up
with nonprofit organizations such as Trout Unlimited to post
billboards of bull trout at stream access points. They also want to
mail every licensed angler a photo of a bull trout and distribute
information cards at licensing centers. What distinguishes the bull
trout is what it lacks: black markings on the dorsal
fin.
Schill and other biologists plan to check
back with fishers to “see if the education had an effect.” Schill
hopes that next time, anglers get straight As.
* Rebecca Clarren
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Fishers fail trout test.
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