Stewardship Licence Pilot Project

[jstelfox]

How would you like to legally harvest an unlimited number of non-native brookies and rainbows, while helping native fish populations to recover!!?? If so, read on.

The Stewardship Licence Pilot Project permits anglers to harvest an unlimited number of non-native brook and/or rainbow trout from specified waters, provided that they annually pass the fish ID test and have participated in one supervised outing.

Since 2009, anglers participating in this project have harvested almost 3,000 brook trout from the specified waters (see attached data summary). Starting in 2013, harvest of non-native rainbow trout will also be permitted in a few specified waters in the Oldman River watershed.

The attached background information sheet provides some basic information about the Stewardship Licence Pilot Project, which is a spin-off of the Quirk Creek Brook Trout Suppression Project. When the Quirk Creek Brook Trout Suppression Project was initiated in 1998, brook trout comprised over 90% of the fish population in Quirk Creek. Since then, anglers have harvested over 9,500 brook trout from Quirk Creek, brook trout have declined to 30% of the fish population by 2008 and the biomass of cutthroat trout has increased to near record levels.

In order to participate in the Stewardship Licence Pilot Project, anglers must annually pass the fish ID test, which consists of 16 pictures of the four fish species (brook, bull, cutthroat and rainbow trout) that are found in the streams covered by the Stewardship Licence. Anglers can take the test either at our Fish and Wildlife office, which is located on the 2nd floor of the Cochrane Provincial Building at 213-1st St West, Cochrane, or at Trout Unlimited Canada's office at Suite 160, 6712 Fisher St SE, Calgary (phone 403-209-5185).

If you don't pass the test on your first attempt, you are permitted to do the test a second time, while using a key that shows the key-identifying features. The effectiveness of the fish ID test and key in teaching anglers how to identify fish is apparent by the fact that only 15 of the over 9,500 fish harvested by anglers from Quirk Creek were not brook trout.

Anglers who have previously done a supervised outing can then be issued a Stewardship Licence. Anglers who have never done a supervised outing will have their names put on a list and will be contacted when supervised outings are being planned. After completing a supervised outing, you can then be issued a Stewardship Licence, which will permit you to harvest an unlimited number of brook and/or rainbow trout from the streams specified on the Stewardship Licence.

Jim Stelfox
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Southern Rockies Area
Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
Box 1420, Rm 228, 2nd floor, Provincial Building
213-1st Street West
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada T4C 1B4
Tel. 403/851-2205, Fax 403/932-2158
Jim.Stelfox@gov.ab.ca

STEWARDSHIP LICENCE background information sheet.pdf

STEWARDSHIP LICENCE background information sheet.pdf

2012_Stewardship Licence Pilot Project creel data summary_March 15.pdf

[albertatrout]

Great to hear this program is expanding. Looking forward to hearing about how it works out. I don't make it into that area enough to warrant getting the license but if things change its a program i would definitely be willing to help out with. Thank you for posting all the information packages and updates.

[Smitty]

Jim:

 

Mike Smith here from Edmonton; we've been in contact several times via email.

 

Was just wondering how it works with the expanded program for opportunities to harvest rainbow trout? If we've passed the test that specifically targets being able to distinguish between cutts-bulls-brooks, is there a new test I should pass (presumably to test ID skills involving rainbow trout) for the Stewardship license to include the harvest of rainbow trout?

 

Just wondering,

Smitty

[jstelfox]

Jim:

 

Mike Smith here from Edmonton; we've been in contact several times via email.

 

Was just wondering how it works with the expanded program for opportunities to harvest rainbow trout? If we've passed the test that specifically targets being able to distinguish between cutts-bulls-brooks, is there a new test I should pass (presumably to test ID skills involving rainbow trout) for the Stewardship license to include the harvest of rainbow trout?

 

Just wondering,

Smitty

Hi Smitty,

We've revised the test and key to include rainbow trout. Those who have passed the previous test should have little difficulty with this test, since it is easy to differentiate between rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Jim