Bill would ban splake stocking

[Sam]

Splake, a cross between Maine hatchery brook trout and a strain of lake trout, would be banned from wild trout waters if a bill before the Legislature is approved.

The bill is meant to keep the hybrid from migrating into waters other than where they were stocked by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. LD 1081 would ban splake stocking into any waters that drain into or out of wild trout waters. It also directs the department's commissioner to prepare a list of waters suitable for splake stocking. "It's not an anti-splake bill," said Rep. Theodore Koffman, D-Bar Harbor, by phone Friday.

It's about control and keeping splake from the Magalloway, Rapid and Kennebago rivers, among others, he added. "Splake has its place and Maine has places where it shouldn't be. There have been some instances where splake have been introduced to waters that are wild or native brook trout waters and, splake are aggressive. They eat young brook trout," said Koffman, who introduced the bill on behalf of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine.Fisheries biologist Tim Obery, the department's splake program manager, agrees that splake have gotten into the Magalloway and Rapid rivers in northern Oxford County, but only in limited numbers.

"Since 1998, we've handled 1,267 fish from the Rapid River and Pond in the River during all seasons except winter and not one has been a splake," he wrote in an April 2006 fishing report. "We're serious about protecting and preserving the Rapid River brook trout fishery. And, if splake ever pose a threat to this resource, it will be addressed immediately," Obery added.According to IF&W's splake fact sheet, they feed primarily on smelts, perch and minnows. They rarely feed on coldwater gamefish. In Maine, splake range in size from 10 to 18 inches, and grow at a fast rate. Because they're sterile, they don't reproduce. IF&W considers splake a put-grow-take fish.

Splake have a higher survival rate than stocked brook trout and can create contribute to quality fisheries in waters where other hatchery species have failed, Obery said.But whether they're a hit with anglers is a matter of opinion. "Nobody comes to Maine to catch splake," George Smith, SAM's executive director said by phone Friday. "Splake doesn't enhance Maine as a tourism destination. Splake are not the fish of our future."

Obery disagrees.

In his April 2006 report, he said people want a diversity of fishing opportunities. "While some people may be only interested in fly-fishing, some Maine folks are only able to fish during the winter months and many of Maine's anglers enjoy all types of fishing. The stocking of splake in no way jeopardizes any of these practices. Rather, it enhances them. "Smith agrees that splake serve a purpose. "They're very popular with ice fishermen. Splake eat a lot and they grow fast and people like big fish. I used to oppose splake entirely, but I've changed my mind for ice fishermen," he said.Smith says SAM wants the department to reduce splake stocking and limit them to urban and suburban areas.

"We want to ratchet it back and make sure they're going in the right places. If they just stop putting them in places where they can migrate all over, I think we will be in good shape," he said.

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