by Contributor on Thursday April 08 2021
Guy Rook, February winner of $1,000 worth of gift certificates was drawn from the Wynndel Foods & Outdoor depot. Submitted photo
The Kootenay Lake Angler Incentive Program is designed to help the iconic kokanee salmon population recover after their collapse in 2013. In 2017, only 12,000 spawners were estimated in the main lake. Conservationists have been trying to reverse the decline by conducting kokanee egg plants and fry release for the past five years.
The high in-lake abundance of rainbow and bull trout is suppressing the survival of the kokanee, the primary food source of these predators. The incentive program encourages anglers to catch and retain rainbow and bull trout while giving the juvenile kokanee a chance to grow.