TU Stocking

[Maurice]

For the record, I didn't read it...as was stated it was tooooooo long. I was just trying to take the edge of Troutberts "Drivilous" comment.

 

[Chaz]

Here are the two policies written by TU the first concerns co-op nurseries the second concerns Trout Management. This is what the state council has published. I took a count several years ago, and there are fewr than 6 chapters that as far as I can tell are involved with co-op nurseries. There are no doubt a few more than that involved in stocking.

In my opinion chapters are at risk that stock fish. That's just my opinion. Further there should be some justification for stocking, like restoration of native fishes. Stocking of browns and rainbows should be completely off limits, but that is my opinion. TU Iis a Cold water conservation Org. as such chapters shouldn't be wasting resources that are hard to come by on stocking trout, that is what PFBC does as well as the Co-ops. not TU. Again my opinion.


Co-op Nurseries

Trout Mnagement


LRSABecker, I am not against stocking the Lehigh, all Im saying is that any stocking should be well thought out and with the ultimate goal of restoring the wild trout of the river and that includes brook trout.

Stocking of large migratory fish in the river for the misguided purpose of trying to establish a run of salmon and steelhead ignores the life history of these great fish. The Atlantic Ocean in the mid-Atlantic region is far too warm for these fish, if they made it that far. Heck they can't even establish Atlantic Salmon in their home waters.

So where does this leave us, restoration of the river itself, a very noble cause and should be part of LRSA's mission. Goals must be achieveable.

 

[RyanR]

LRSABecker wrote:
Ahh see now your going to run into the problem that the Lehigh does have a wild trout population arguement.

Shane, first thing I love your new avatar. Next, regarding stocking and TU; several years ago TU National tightened up its policy regarding chapter involvement in stocking & hatchery co-ops. Basically, TU discourages that involvement however it did not go so far as to explicitly forbid it, at least for chapters with an existing hatchery co-op. TU's stance makes sense since stocking trout is often counter-productive to TU's mission which is to restore, reconnect, and protect trout streams for wild trout to thrive in them. Overal there are very few TU affiliated co-ops compared to the# of chapters state and nation wide. It is the remnants of an unfortunate period years ago in which a few misguided individuals lost sight of TU's mission and steered chapters into affiliations with stocking and co-ops. I think TU's updated policy stattements are an attempt to move towards officially phasing those affiliations out.

A far as any TU individuals getting on the LRSA for stocking, clearly these individuals are not well-informed about the Lehigh, the dynamic of it trout population, and the vital role the LRSA has played in the rebirth and enhancement of that trout population. I have to say I've only heard a few TU individuals question it and that's because they know TU's feelings about stocking but are naive to the specific situation of the Lehigh. I don't think there are many TU members complainig to you are there? Let me know, there is plenty of heavily forested lands by me to dispose of the bodies. Seriously though I think the TU chapters that are involved with our Lehigh River Trout Work Group (under the leadership of the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance like Forks of the Delaware and Western Pocono are keenly aware of the LRSA's role and what its stocking has helped to accomplish for the river.

I think there is at least a fair amount of anecdotal evidence to support the theory that numerous trout stocked by the LRSA (notably the brown trout) have thrived enough to spawn successfully and have helped to produce and enhance a population of wild brown trout throughout the river. One of my favorite program's the LRSA ever did was the brown trout fingerlings (more like advanced fingerlings) that they stocked in the fall. IMO that is one of the best value's for stocking $ and a great way to jumpstart a population of thriving trout. I would love to see the LRSA get to a point where it's program consists of mostly stocking advanced fingerling brown trout and rainbows.

The LRSA has also been instrumental in conservation & cleanup efforts regarding AMD as well as placing dataloggers in the river at various locales. All these efforts can be gleened from the extensive website the LRSA maintains.

I think the Lehigh River Stocking Association and the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance are the two most important trout fishery advocates on the river.