Last Saturday, December 1, Pat Hamilton, senior fisheries biologist from the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife, presented publicly her brook trout genetics study at the annual Fisheries Forum at the Hayford Hatchery in Hackettstown, NJ. Pat’s work is the culmination of years of sampling and DNA studies. Agust Gudmundsson, past state council chair and current VP of Resources, summed up Pat’s work well when he wrote:
Initial hopes that a small isolated population of brook trout found in Camden county would provide a link to heritage brook trout genetics, did not materialize. However 19 other headwaters streams in three different headwaters drainages, produced a wonderful surprise. Genetic markers in brook trout found 5 of the 6 in the Passaic watershed headwaters tested, were found to be very closely related to one another, and found to have surprisingly divergent markers from the control hatchery stock. Additionally brook trout in 4 of the 6 streams in the Raritan drainage were found to have similar relations that are distinct from the Passaic brookies and also divergent from the hatchery fish. Even more impressive in following the phentic markers of the sampled fish, there proved to be more than a 94.6 percent uniqueness quotient in the sampled fish, meaning that each of the individual fish was identifiable as being from the same stream as the other fish sampled. Similar results appeared in a couple Delaware tributaries, but did not appear across the entire drainage, indicating that further and more detailed sampling is warranted before any assumptions are made regarding them.
This data still needs to be published and peer reviewed but the findings are really very exciting, especially considering that in most of the large scale published findings on brook trout New jersey is often left out. The paradigms followed in the study are very closely tied to the pioneering work done in identifying the unique nature of the Southern Application brookies. These initial findings may or may not prove to be definitive, peer review will determine that. However, the very startling and promising nature of the distinct and identifiable genetic markers in these wild brook trout populations, in the most densely populated and most heavily industrialized state in the union, prove how powerful and resilient these delicate little fish are.
- Agust
We are very excited by this news and much discussion will ensue in coming months over protecting and enhancing our wild, heritage strain brook trout.
