![]() “In fact, within Banff National Park, there are very few actual genetically pure populations of westslope cutthroat trout remaining,” he said during a recent virtual presentation hosted by Bow Valley Naturalists. Stitt said the historic distribution of westslope cutthroat trout is “completely diminished and very segmented”. The decline is due to overfishing, hybridization with other trout and habitat deterioration.ĭetection in Alberta in 2016 of whirling disease – a deadly fished disease named for the circular and erratic swimming patterns of infected fish – presents an additional threat to this species, which are viewed as an indicator species of general ecosystem health because of their strict habitat requirements. Westslope cutthroat trout are listed as threatened under the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA).Īlthough historically a widespread species once found in the montane and foothill streams of southern Alberta within the Old Man and Bow River watersheds, westslope cutthroat trout over the last century have disappeared from all but 10 per cent of their historic range in Alberta. “As we all know climate change has started to rear its head and aquatic invasive species have started to rear their heads and now we also realize that these non-native fish competitively exclude and hybridize with native fish like westslope cutthroat trout.” We have been doing it since the early 19th Century and we did it right through until the late 80s,” said Brad Stitt, project manager for the Saving Threatened Trout project in Lake Louise, Yoho, Kootenay field unit. “Parks Canada has a history of stocking non-native fish and we did it to increase recreation. ![]() Luckily, Parks Canada aquatics experts say a few genetically pure populations of westslope cutthroat trout still exist in Banff that will allow for the reintroduction of the threatened species into some lakes and streams where they once thrived. BANFF – With westslope cutthroat populations declining across their historical range, Parks Canada is leading the way in Alberta to improve habitat and reintroduce the threatened species in Banff National Park.Īlthough westslope cutthroat trout can still be found in Banff in isolated bodies of water and streams flowing into the Bow River, historic stocking practices that began in the 1940s to promote sport fishing led to cross-breeding with non-native trout and created hybrid fish populations.
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