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July 21, 2008

Round whitefish restoration going in right direction

Once common, endangered gamefish doing well in Adirondack lake

By JEFF MEYERS

RAY BROOK -- Efforts to revive a dwindling population of round whitefish in New York state continue to make progress.

The round whitefish, a popular sports fish in parts of the Great Lakes, was once a common inhabitant of New York with healthy populations in 84 lakes across the state in 1900.

But those numbers steadily dwindled during the 20th century, mostly caused by the introduction of non-native species such as smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rainbow smelt into their habitat.

By 1990, only nine lakes in the state still had whitefish populations, and numbers in three of those lakes were described as poor.

"They are an endangered species in New York," said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation biologist Richard Preall. "Of the indigenous lakes where we still have wild populations, only about six waters have remained stable."

Round whitefish, which averages up to a foot in length in the Adirondacks but grows much larger in the Great Lakes, are a cold-water species and prefer deep water with good oxygen levels.

They have continued to do very well in Cascade Lakes off Route 73 between Lake Placid and Keene, which fills their habitat bill perfectly.

"Cascade Lakes are like a little bit of Norway in the Adirondacks," Preall said. "It's a brutal environment but not for the round whitefish."

The species' success in Cascade Lakes has led to a major restoration project. Eggs collected from whitefish in the lakes were raised in hatcheries and released in eight lakes where the fish had previously existed.

Utilizing an extensive study on the state's round whitefish authored by Cornell University doctorate student Geoff Steinhart, DEC officials chose the locations that offered the best potential for successful restocking.

"Based on Geoff's model, the fish favor ponds that don't have any competing species," Preall said. "They'll survive if there's one species present, but when you get two or three (competitive species), they don't do well at all."

DEC biologists have been using Little Green Pond near the fish hatchery at Saranac Inn as a breeding pond for round whitefish, and the species has done extremely well there, Preall said.

"They're growing in Little Green Pond like gang busters," said Preall, noting that it is too early to tell if the fish have begun breeding in the pond. "Our hope is that in the future they will begin to spawn in real lakes."

Round whitefish don't mature until age 3, so Preall is expecting some spawning success at Little Green Pond in the fall.

"They're nicknamed frost fish' because they spawn so late in the year," he said, explaining that the spawning season can stretch past Thanksgiving.

The state is relying on the success at Little Green Pond as a source for whitefish eggs, so additional lakes can be stocked in the future. The long-term goal is to establish at least 10 self-sustaining populations of round whitefish in the state.

"I'm hopeful that within five to 10 years, numbers will be sufficient so they can at least be delisted from endangered to threatened," Preall said, adding that the species may one day be a popular choice for anglers, who are prohibited from taking round whitefish today.

Round whitefish have a silver coloration. Their body shape is similar to a trout, but the lips are turned down similar to a sucker fish. They predominantly feed on insects and snails that live on the lake bottom.

E-mail Jeff Meyers at:

jmeyers@pressrepublican.com

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