I hear echoes of failed Thissell Pond project in state’s plan to save whitefish in Haymock

By Bob Mallard

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recently proposed stocking lake trout in Haymock Lake in the Allagash Region.

The department’s goal was to increase lake trout abundance in order to reduce nonnative smelt numbers via predation. The impetus behind the proposal was to protect the lake’s whitefish population.

I wrote in opposition to the proposal in Bangor Daily News. The Maine chapter of Native Fish Coalition also submitted formal opposition. Several conservation groups showed support by sharing my article as well.

Whitefish are not native to Haymock Lake, located in the northeastern corner of Piscataquis County. 

MDIF&W introduced them in 1963 in an effort to offset the loss of lake whitefish elsewhere. Whitefish have been extirpated from more than 50 waters, mostly due to the introduction of nonnative smelt, according to MDIF&W data. 

The introduction of whitefish into Haymock Lake was done under a controversial management tool referred to as “surrogate waters” or “wild refuges.” I have publicly challenged the use of wild refuges in all but extreme cases.

While whitefish are struggling in Maine, I do not feel that it warrants moving them around at the expense of wild, native fish.

Lake trout are native to Haymock Lake, and currently self-sustaining. While stocked in the past, lake trout have not been stocked in Haymock Lake since 2004.

At less than 1,000 acres with a maximum depth of just 61 feet and an average depth of 31, Haymock Lake is relatively small and shallow.

There are other issues as well. “On the basis of depth, temperature and dissolved oxygen, Haymock Lake is considered a mediocre lake trout habitat,” according to the MDIF&W.

While the state says lake trout occur naturally at “relatively low levels” in Haymock Lake, the population is likely what it should be all things considered. Angler use is reported to be “very low,” and catch rates for lake trout correspond.

Brook trout are native and self-sustaining in Haymock Lake, which has only been stocked with brook trout once, receiving 10,000 fall fingerlings in 1991, according to the MDIF&W. 

Not stocked for 20 years, Haymock Lake is just 5 years away from being designated a State Heritage Fish water. This designation would protect the lake from exactly what the department is trying to do now — stocking.

Once the state stocks Haymock Lake, the clock will be set back to zero and it will not be eligible for State Heritage Fish designation for another 25 years.

As for the effectiveness of using one species of fish to reduce the numbers of another, consider Thissell Pond, just 15 miles south of Haymock Lake.

A wild native brook trout fishery, Thissell Pond had not been stocked since 1980. Unfortunately, nonnative smelt were introduced to it, which threatened the brook trout. From 1998 through 2004, the MDIF&W stocked 10,000 hybrid splake in Thissell Pond in an attempt to reduce nonnative smelt numbers. 

I publicly opposed this proposal as well due to concerns with regard to cost, time to complete, likelihood of success and the potential impact on the brook trout they were trying to save.

A decade after suspending splake stocking, and failing to reduce the smelt population, the state chemically reclaimed Thissell Pond in 2013. It was stocked with brook trout from 2014 through 2018. 

The MDIF&W spent tens of thousands of dollars on splake and delayed the reclamation of Thissell Pond by 14 years in a failed attempt to suppress nonnative smelt via predation.

The department is moving forward with its plan to stock lake trout in Haymock Lake. Those involved are referring to the project as “experimental,” and saying that it will likely take 4-6 years for the stocked lake trout to get large enough to effectively prey on the smelt. 

Even then, MDIF&W admits that the best we can hope for is suppression and not eradication, and there are other concerns. 

“There is recognized uncertainty regarding the vulnerability of smaller dwarf lake whitefish to be preyed upon by Lake Trout, since they do not grow to a size that would preclude predation,” the MDIF&W said.

Stocking lake trout on top of wild native lake trout to try to control nonnative smelt to protect nonnative whitefish doesn’t make sense. 

The department needs to stop using our lakes and ponds as laboratories for testing experimental fish husbandry practices. While lake trout may temporarily reduce the smelt population, stocking them is not a permanent solution.

In the event the lake trout experiment at Haymock Lake fails, the department has said it may look at relocating whitefish to yet another water to try to save them. Wouldn’t it make more sense to try to save whitefish where they belong, not keep trying to find new homes for them?

This is why wild refuges scare me. Where does it end and who decides what goes where, when and why?

Mallard is the former owner of Kennebec River Outfitters and a Registered Maine Fishing Guide. He is an author and executive director for Native Fish Coalition. Bob can be reached at BobMallard.com or Info@BobMallard.com.