Yukoners support changes to fishing rules for Little Atlin Lake, report finds

The Yukon government is amending its fishing regulations for Little Atlin Lake to protect its lake trout population. 

Last week, the territory released a report summarizing what it learned from public consultations about the proposed changes. The amendments will go into effect on April 1. 

The Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board helped carry out the public engagement sessions and also made its own recommendations to the government about the changes. 

Steve Hossack, the management board's acting executive director, said there was "widespread public support" for them.

"It was kind of a no-brainer for the board to support these regulation changes," Hossack said.  "The local and traditional knowledge supports this kind of regulation change."

The Yukon government has proposed three changes: implementing a harvest slot – range of allowable fish sizes – for lake trout; a seasonal lake trout fishing closure between July 1 and Nov. 30, and requiring the use of single-point barbless hooks for all fishing on the lake.

Little Atlin Lake is just over 90 kilometres from Whitehorse and can be accessed from the Atlin Road. 

From 2015 to 2021, the population size and density of lake trout in Little Atlin Lake dropped by 65 per cent, according to the Yukon government's 2023 fishery status report for the lake. 

Summer angling effort – the number of hours the lake was fished – increased by 43 per cent between 1998 and 2020, the report said. 

"Little Atlin Lake is currently being overfished and is in need of further regulations and enforcement," said Amaya Cherian-Hall, the natural resources manager for Carcross/Tagish First Nation, in a statement, adding that the regulation changes "are a step in the right direction."

The lake trout population in Little Atlin Lake was small even before its recent decline, said Cameron Sinclair, a senior fisheries biologist with the Yukon's environment department. 

In the summer, there is limited available habitat for lake trout, which prefer temperatures from 8 to 12 C. In Little Atlin Lake, the only habitat that reaches that temperature range is a deep trough found in the middle of the lake. 

"So it's never gonna be a really large population to start and that small population is reducing in size," Sinclair said.

Protecting lake trout

The seasonal closure is meant to protect lake trout during the summer, when they are most at risk from fishing, and during their spawning season.

"The warmest water months of July and August, when you catch the lake trout and you are releasing it … there's some potential mortality associated with bringing it through warm water," Sinclair said. "And then immediately after that warm water season is the fall time, which is their spawning season."

Protecting spawners will help prevent the population from collapsing, Sinclair said. 

The harvest slot means that anglers cannot harvest lake trout under 58.5 centimetres or over 65 centimetres. The lower limit protects lake trout approximately 10 years or younger, giving them two opportunities to spawn. The upper limit is meant to protect large females that carry more eggs. 

Protecting the spawning population from harvest is only part of the solution. Many anglers in the lake practice catch-and--release fishing, which also puts lake trout at risk of injury and death. 

The third amendment – requiring all anglers in the lake to use single-point barbless hooks – is meant to protect all fish that are caught and released. 

Catch-and release-concerns 

People who took part in the public consultation called for improved fisheries education around catch-and-release ethics, handling practices and gear use.

Some expressed concerns that the harvest slot size will result in more catch-and-release fishing.

"Over the next couple of years, anglers on the lake might find that they're catching and releasing fish because they're not in that harvestable slot size," Hossack said. "But then as the fish mature and grow … there will be more fish that are harvestable in that slot size. So it may be a bit of short-term pain for long-term gain."

Cherian-Hall says that Carcross/Tagish First Nation does not support sport fishing.

"It is disrespectful to the fish and causes them significant harm," Cherian-Hall said. "If you must release fish in order to follow regulations, release no more than five in a single day."

The best way to mitigate the risks of catch-and-release fishing is education, Sinclair said.

"It's not taking them into your boats and exposing them to air," Sinclair said. "But keeping them in the water and releasing that hook and handling them as little as possible."