Fish Community Monitoring

Researchers at the University of Vermont have started a new fish surveying program in Lake Champlain to assess changes in fish populations. The study pays particular attention to the impact of growing lake trout populations on rainbow smelt and other prey fish. Lake trout have recently begun naturally reproducing in the lake—a long sought-after goal, but fisheries experts are concerned that this might lead to a collapse in the prey fish at the bottom of the food chain and have drastic consequences for the entire fish ecology of the lake. The UVM scientists are working with biologists from Vermont, New York, and Wisconsin to incorporate lessons from past fish survey work on Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. The goal is to put in place a long-term survey program and fish community monitoring plan that will help scientists make decisions about fisheries management.