BC recreational fisheries: exploring potential for development of kokanee program Year Two

The proposed project aims to evaluate the potential for a kokanee species based recreational program in stocked lakes of B.C. Recent data collected by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. (FFSBC) suggests that effort can increase by up to 400% once kokanee are large enough to be caught. The main benefit of this program is a potential increase in fishing effort and the recruitment of new anglers. The project will include estimating the biological capacity for kokanee using state-of-the-art stock assessment models of fisheries science. Estimates of biological capacity will be integrated with analysis of angler preferences and stocking cost-benefit analyses to estimate the growth potential for recreational fisheries for kokanee. The research could also provide findings important for multi-species lakes across the country and the models could assist with regulating the effort on the wild lakes, helping to conserve sensitive kokanee populations.

Faculty Supervisor:

Murdoch McAllister

Student:

Divya Alice Varkey

Partner:

Riseform Flyfishing Ventures

Discipline:

Resources and environmental management

Sector:

Sports and recreation

University:

University of British Columbia