For Immediate Release: June 5, 2007

Contact: Shawn Good, Fisheries Biologist, 802-786-3863

Anglers Can Help in Vermont Muskie Restoration Project

Waterbury, VT - Vermont anglers who are fishing northern Lake Champlain have a unique opportunity to help in the restoration of Vermont's native muskellunge or 'muskie' population by providing information on any muskie they catch.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is asking for help in collecting data and tissue samples from muskie caught in the lower Missisquoi River, Missisquoi Bay or northern Inland Sea portion of Lake Champlain.

"If you catch a muskie, please record some information before releasing the fish, if you choose to release it," said State Fisheries Biologist Shawn Good. "We need the location and date of the catch, total length and weight, a ½ inch V-notch of the trailing edge of the pectoral or pelvic fin placed in folded paper, and a side-view photo of the fish. We realize getting the weight may not be possible if you are going to release the fish, which is fine."

"If you collect a fin tissue sample, please keep it between the folded paper in a zip-lock bag in the freezer, and call me at 802-786-3863," said Good. "We will be sending the tissue samples out for DNA analysis to determine the origin of the muskie."

Vermont is the only state in New England with a native muskie population. Muskie were once found in Lake Champlain in greater numbers than today. Zadock Thompson described them in his 'Natural History of Vermont' in 1853 as found in Lake Champlains Missisquoi Bay, off the mouth of the Lamoille River and as far south as Otter Creek.

Lake Champlain muskie numbers declined over the years. Before 1970, the Missisquoi River, between Swanton Dam and Highgate Falls Dam, contained Vermont's last known naturally reproducing native muskie population. A chemical spill from an upstream paper mill caused a massive fish kill in the river in 1979, apparently killing all of the muskie between the two dams.

Anglers still, however, occasionally catch one of these highly-prized fish in the lower Missisquoi River or in Lake Champlain. Chris Beebe's Vermont state record 38-pound, 52-inch muskie caught in the lower Missisquoi River in September 2005 is testimony that a few muskies still ply the waters of Lake Champlain.

The origin of these muskie, however, is unknown. They may be from previous stocking programs in the Lake Champlain basin. From 1980 through 1986, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department annually stocked 10,000 to 100,000 muskie fry from Pennsylvania into the Lemon Fair River and upper Otter Creek. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has also stocked Chautauqua Lake muskie fry into the Great Chazy River for nearly 30 years. As a result, the occasional muskie caught on the Vermont side of the lake and in the lower Missisquoi River below Swanton dam may be stray fish from New York or remnants of the Otter Creek stockings 20 years ago. However, there is an outside chance these fish are descendants of the original Lake Champlain strain fish from the upper Missisquoi River.

Results of this genetic analysis of fin samples will help guide future management actions for possible muskie reintroduction efforts.

"Hopefully, our restoration program will succeed in bringing these majestic fish back to Lake Champlain and its tributaries for anglers to enjoy in the future," said Good.

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