By William Twardek, MSc. Candidate, Carleton University, Little is known about the biological consequences of recreational fisheries for steelhead trout, despite steelhead being one of the most highly coveted species to anglers around the world. It is particularly important to account for the impact that recreational fisheries have on steelhead given that there are only a few wild populations left in the world distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest and Russia. In most, if not all recreational fisheries, anglers are required to release steelhead following capture under the premise that released fish suffer minimal fitness consequences. Although commercial fisheries for steelhead have indicated significant by-catch mortality of steelhead, few studies have […]