An Empirical Model of Lentic Brook Trout

Abstract

Abstract We present data on age, growth, mortality, population size, and fisheries for 12 populations of wild lentic brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis in Algonquin Park, Ontario, and incorporate the data in a simulation model. The populations showed a remarkable homogeneity of parameters; nearly all had very rapid growth, early maturity, high mortality, and small adult stocks. Growth and population density, however, were negatively associated with the complexity of fish communities. Modeling suggested that neither minimum nor maximum size limits will materially improve quality of fishing. A 360-mm minimum size limit, for example, produced only marginal improvements in simulated catch per unit effort and mean length of harvested fish but sharp reductions in harvest per unit effort and yield. The model predicted the maximum annual sustainable yield of these fisheries to be 0.78 kg/ha, a value close to that predicted by the morphoedaphic index (total dissolved solids divided by mean depth). Our results have ...