Recruitment of lake trout in Lake Champlain

Abstract

Abstract Lake trout were extirpated from Lake Champlain by 1900, and are currently the focus of intensive efforts to restore a self-sustaining population. Stocking of yearling lake trout since 1972 has re-established adult populations, spawning occurs at multiple sites lake-wide, and fry production at several sites is very high. However, little to no recruitment past age-0 has occurred, as evidenced by the absence of adults without hatchery fin clips in fall assessments; no regular sampling for juveniles is conducted. We began focused sampling for juvenile lake trout in fall, 2015, in the Main Lake using bottom trawling, and expanded sampling to sites in the north and south of the lake in 2016. In 2015 we collected 303 lake trout