Poaching incident

[trailhead]

Just heard about this and thought I'd post a heads up. Pretty sad



On September 15, 2009 the Blairmore Fish and Wildlife Office received a call on the REPORT A POACHER hotline. The caller was concerned about finding evidence of fish poaching on the Oldman River, north of the Crowsnest Pass. The incident took place approximately 5.5 km upstream of Hwy 22 on the north side of the river accessed via the gravel road leading to the Bob Creek Wildland. At a popular parking spot, four fresh fish gut piles lay in the grass. All appeared to be from large trout. When the witness went down to the river, further evidence of poaching was found. Laying in a pile were ten more whole rainbow trout, in the 16-20 inch range, along with a large bull trout exceeding 23 inches.

This section of the Oldman River is a designated catch and release only fishery, making the killing and or wasting of any fish illegal. It appears as though the violation occurred on either September 13 or 14th. (Sunday or Monday.) This incident is of particular concern due to number of breeding age fish killed and the fact so many were left to rot. Further to this is the fact that all bull trout in Alberta are protected due to their threatened status.

If you have any information about this incident or any other poaching complaint please call the Report A Poacher hotline at 1-800-642-3800 or the Blairmore District Office at 403-562-3289. All callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward.