Brown Trout V.S.

Brook Trout
German Brown Trout

Scientific name
Salmo trutta

NON-NATIVE, usually native to the
areas within Europe and western
Asia
Arrived in the late 1800s
Identifiable by the coloring, a golden
brown to a olive brown with
yellowish sides
Back and sides have dark spots that
are encircled with light yellow or
white coloring
So why are they here?
Brown trout were widely introduced into
North America around 1883
The eggs were shipped to a local hatchery in
Long Island, New York by a German named
Baron Lucius von Behr
Von Behr had brought these over to provide
a substitute for the brook trout (Salvelinus
fontinalis) that were disappearing because of
the encroachment of civilization on their
wild, pristine habitat
This species is also found in Asia, New
Zealand, South America, and Africa
Known to be the most widely distributed
trout in the world
Not Only Found Here!
Now, the brown trout is a prized and wary European game fish that is
favored amongst most people

The brown trout has several different varieties that can be found around
the world
Loch Leven trout found in Great Britain

These fish are transplanted because they are able to thrive in warmer
waters than some of the other species of trout that are found in open water

However, there is one species of trout (sea trout) that is much larger than
freshwater forms and provides good sport fishing
Whirling Disease
The European trout has enacted a kind of
revenge on the rainbow trout that eat
them overseas

It is in the form of one of their native
parasites, a protozoan that causes the so
called whirling disease

The term whirling is used because of the
fact that it makes its victims chase their
tails

Introduced around the 1950s, though had
been laying dormant. However, for many
unknown reasons in the 1990s the disease
caught back on and began wiping out
strains of both rainbow and cutthroat
trout




The brown trout is considered the
most successful fish introduction in
the United States, largely due to the
fact that the disease helped suppress
the competitors

Among some species that are losing
out to the over-populated brown
trout is the state fish of California,
the California golden trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita)

Also, their voracious appetite is
causing endangerment to
Californias rarer frog species like
the mountain yellow-legged frog
Figure 1.1 Distribution Map for Whirling Disease that can be
found within both trout and salmon. Everything in Green is
where it can be found, and Red is where it is not located yet
Figure 1.2 Life
Cycle of Whirling
Disease

Figure 1.3

What you can
do to prevent
the spread of
Whirling
Disease
Why Stock?

Many of the state fish and game officials have for over a century routinely
transferred species from outside their normal range to diversify or even
increase angling opportunities for the general public

Often, the native species will disappear (brook trout)

Widespread introduction of the brown trout has depressed or even
eliminated populations of many of the local trout species in the western
part of the United States, an area at one time rich in local native trout
numbers

States are currently rethinking deliberate introductions that have an
impact on their local species, and research is being conducted to evaluate
non-native influences on local food chains.
Brook Trout

Scientific Name
Salvenlinus fontinalis

Color patterns varies from the brown
trout
Color ranges from green to brown
basic coloration (distinctive marbled
pattern)
Distinctive sprinkling of red dots that
are surrounded by blue haloes

The Native One
Brook trout are the true North American native, found as far south as
Georgia all the way up to the Arctic Circle, and west into Washington
and Oregon

Can also be found within reaches of the Canadian provinces, South
America, and Europe

Brook trout were the only known species that the fly fishers chased in
the eastern United States at one point in time

Since the decline happened and the introduced brown trout came into
direct competition, the brook trout started to lose it popularity in the
late 19
th
century

Quick Facts

They are also known as speckled trout or squaretail

Brook trout is very popular as a freshwater game fish because of its
variety of char and regarded flavor

Many people like to fish for it because of the fighting qualities when
hooked

It has also been transplanted to many other parts of the world, because it
can thrive inside cold, clean fresh water
Brook Trout Restoration
Local communities and DNR officials are trying to restore the native brook trout
back into natural habitat since they are slowly disappearing due to brown trout
introduction

One of the groups that are trying to do this is the Land O Sky Trout Unlimited
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has begun a program to
reintroduce the Southern Appalachian Brook Trout to as much of its
original territory as possible
Their main goal is to re-establish stable reproducing populations in
healthy streams and to ensure this unique genotype is protected and
preserved
Signed in 1998 between T.U. North Carolina, Tennessee, and the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park
The trout has lost approximately 75% of its range within the park, and
some of the causes for this includes logging, subsequent stocking of non-
native trout, and stream degradation from acidification
By 1975, the population with native trout had become mostly restricted to
marginal headwater streams above 3,500 feet