Lake Trout Numbers Down
Written by Andrew-Rossi on July 23, 2018
An extensive effort to capture and kill non-native lake trout in Yellowstone Lake is showing progress with fewer of the invasive fish being found.
Yellowstone National Park fisheries chief Todd Koel says so far this year about 155,000 lake trout have been caught, which is down 63,000 from this time last year. Koel told the Jackson Hole News & Guide that it’s a sign that the lake trout population is finally crashing.
The effort against the lake trout is the centerpiece of a long-term fight to help Yellowstone’s native cutthroat trout. Lake trout feed on cutthroats, causing the native fish population to decline.
Yellowstone’s netting program costs about $2 million a year.