Conserving Maine’s Wild Brook Trout
Maine is the nation’s wild brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) resource leader. A national status assessment of the species’ historic range, completed in 2005, found the greatest percentage of intact, viable wild brook trout populations occur in Maine. Maine is a leader in wild brook trout conservation and a founding partner of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture: National Fish Habitat Partnership (www.easternbrooktrout.org). Our wild brookies persist statewide and can be found inhabiting all varieties of aquatic habitats – lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and coastal estuaries. This provides anglers with ample year round options to experience a variety of fishing opportunities and angling styles while exploring Maine’s diverse geography.
Maine’s wild brook trout tend to be concentrated in the interior highlands of the state, an area dominated by vast forests. However, wild brookies are also common in lower elevation areas, the coastal plain, and in relative close proximity to development. All in all, recent survey efforts of all habitat types reveal that wild brook trout occupy about 60% of all habitats available to them within Maine. Because trout can be found in such diverse habitats and conditions, fish size and abundance is also quite variable. As such, IFW biologists vary management strategies across habitats and waters in order to provide a variety of options to anglers while conserving populations for future generations. Some ponds that support high growth rates are managed to provide anglers an expectation of catching larger than average size trout. Conversely, some waters that tend to produce high abundances of trout are managed to provide anglers an expectation of ‘faster fishing’ or higher catch rates for smaller trout. Additional information regarding managing Maine’s unique and valuable wild brook trout resources can be found here www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/species/management_plans/brooktrout.pdf.
