Hundreds of fish transferred to Idaho for research

BEAR LAKE, Utah (ABC4) – In an effort to better understand the impact that lake trout have on the underwater ecosystem at Bear Lake, researchers are analyzing the effects of a project 20 years in the making.

Approximately 20 years ago, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources began stocking Bear Lake with a small population of sterile lake trout. In June, the division, along with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will extract a percentage of the trout from the lake, which sits right on the border of the two states, to monitor and evaluate the lake trout impact.

Monitoring lake trout is important because the fish is a predatory species. If unchecked, the lake trout can overrun other fish populations in a particular body of water. Typically, lake trout can migrate to new homes through colonized connected lakes. Trout in Stanley Lake however, are reproducing at a rapid rate. The sterilized trout from Bear Lake are hoped to quell the issue in Idaho.

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