Brook trout stream in Smokies sabotaged

From David Borum, the SFWDA Legislative Affairs guy:

Brook trout stream in Smokies sabotaged

By Iva Butler
ivab@thedailytimes.com
Originally published: June 16. 2010 3:01AM
Last modified: June 15. 2010 10:59PM

Large adult rainbow trout have been illegally released into Lynn Camp Prong, a Smokies stream stocked with 1,200 native brook trout last fall.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials call the act sabotage. The restocking introduced rainbows back into the 8-miles of stream designated for the native brookies.

When Park biologists were electroshocking the fish to determine how well the brook trout were faring, “several large rainbow trout that wouldn’t have been missed last year because of their size were discovered. It is clear that people are restocking rainbows in that stream illegally,” said Nancy Gray, a Smokies spokeswoman.

Thus far, 11 of the large rainbows have been removed from the stream by the Park staff using the electroshock method. One of the fish was identified by its clipped fins as coming from a hatchery. Two other rainbows were possibly hatchery-bred.

“The rainbows are more aggressive and compete for habitat and food,” Gray said.

Anyone with information on who stocked the rainbows is asked to call the Park at 865-436-1230.

alabamatoy wrote: From David Borum, the SFWDA Legislative Affairs guy:  The restocking introduced rainbows back into the 8-miles of stream designated for the native brookies.

How can it be illegal to introduce a fish BACK into a stream and how the hell do you designate a stream just for a specific type of fish?  Do they get memo's?  Did the rainbows get an eviction notice?

Saying "restocking" and "back" implies the fish were there to begin with or am I missing something here?

Who cares if they are "competing" for food and habitat.  It's nature and survival of the fittest.  It's how this planet came to be since creation.

Anybody want to call that number and mention TU as a suspect?

So who is going to help out the poor fish that are getting ELECTROSHOCKED!  Oh the horror of it all....

The obvious solution is to ban all the fishermen sabatures from any and all national park and national forest waters (including Tellico). 

Edited by 98TJ - 17 June 2010 at 3:27am

Drake wrote: BTW...   is there a TU forum where we could get their point of view on the matter because I'm sure there is an active thread on this.  It would be interesting to see their responses.

I'd kinda like to try the "electroshock method" on Marysue Hilliard.

There's a thought.

I think it's her and her "administration" of the Tellico district that is to blame, not TU.
Policies that trickle down from Ken Salazar.

In ten years, it will be all rainbows and no brookies.