An Overview of the Brook Trout Fishery of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Brook Trout fishery of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) provides a unique case study within the Canadian context. Trouting is considered a ‘right’ in the province, so much so, that residents still do not require a license to participate in the recreational fishery, which largely targets Brook Trout. This has created a situation where the recreational fishery of NL has continually produced some of the highest resident participation rates, on a per capita basis, of any similar fisheries in Canada. Despite its obvious social and cultural importance, the science and management of Brook Trout in NL has remained largely disjointed. There are basically no long term datasets from which to assess the status of stocks. There is however a reasonable amount of project specific data that has been collected throughout the province. This data will be synthesized to provide some basic statistics on the status of brook trout in NL. Likewise an overview of the threats to the fishery will be presented.