Cowichan Lake is one of the most important fisheries on Vancouver Island, yet we have a poor understanding of the spatial ecology of its most sought after species, wild coastal cutthroat trout, or the degree to which fisheries regulations are appropriate or effective. With funding from the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C., and assistance from volunteer anglers, Kintama and the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development acoustic-tagged 42 cutthroat trout in October 2019 which will be monitored for up to 3 years by an array of acoustic receivers deployed throughout Cowichan Lake.
The acoustic-tagged fish plus an extra 38 (80 total) were also marked with brightly coloured Floy T-bar anchor tags that will be used to help separate natural from fishing mortality. Anglers are asked to remove the Floy tags and submit them to the ministry office at 2080A Labieux Rd in Nanaimo for a $100 reward (or photograph and email to Brendan.Anderson@gov.bc.ca).
An animation showing the movements of these fish up to the last data upload on Feb 28, 2020 is available here .