Bull trout found gorging on sockeye salmon smolts in British Columbia lake

[bones]

Bull trout lurking near the outflow of British Columbia’s Chilko Lake had biologists there wondering if the predators were taking a bite out of the lake’s annual migration of millions of sockeye salmon smolts. After flushing nearly 70 barely digested smolts from one 25-inch bull trout’s stomach, they had their answer.

http://magazine.fishsens.com/bull-t...ckeye-salmon-smolts-british-columbia-lake.htm

 

[Ripperoflips]

This should come as a surprise? Same thing happens on any stream, lake or estuary downstream form any spawning stream.

 

[bones]

I 'm not surprised. Acoustic tracking shows there disappearing just after release and bull trout have always been a carnivore. Years ago they used to throw them on the bank because they ate the fish fisherman were fishing for. Now the surprise your looking for could be the population level?

 

[Cuba Libre]

No big deal-- big fish eat little fish! It would amaze you if you saw the full bellies of the Babine Lake burbot when the sockeye smolts are heading out AND the major numbers of fry that feed the burbot, rainbow, CCT etc while migrating heading into the lake in the spring