Trout and Char of the World

18: Global Perspectives on the Management of Trout and Char

Bradley B. Shepard, Ivan Arismendi, Bruno David, Arnaud Caudron, Michel Dedual, Malcolm Draper, Zeb Hogan, Dean Impson, Brooke E. Penaluna, Dan Vermillion, and Kyle A. Young

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874547.ch18

Trout and char management requires integration of physical, biological, and social sciences within a broader social, political, and economic context. Worldwide, it involves three fundamental components: the habitat where trout and char live, the fish themselves, and the humans whose actions affect those fish and their habitat (Hewitt et al. 2008; Hubert and Quist 2010). This chapter explores how this challenge is met across the natural and introduced ranges of trout and char. We begin by providing a historical perspective and introducing key management issues. We then describe how trout and char are managed in different regions of the world. These geographic summaries illustrate the diversity of management approaches. We conclude by highlighting some of the key issues that will shape trout and char management in the coming decades.

From the beginning of recorded history, trout and char have played an important role in northern indigenous cultures (Cooke and Murchie 2015). Although trout and char were important sources of protein in some cultures, others only used fish seasonally and some developed inhibitions toward killing fish (Roux et al. 2011; Muir et al. 2013). Many indigenous cultures continue to rely on trout and char for food, particularly in Arctic regions (Gallagher and Dick 2010; Courtney et al. 2016; Harris et al. 2016). Native cultures first commercialized fish resources through trading, and small-scale commercial fisheries targeting wild Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush continue in some areas (Eschmeyer 1955; Brown et al. 1999; Brenden et al. 2011).