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Bull Trout

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Species Management Plan

Bull Trout spawning While bull trout and Dolly Varden are currently classified as game fish in Washington, they have been red-flagged as a species of concern by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). They are a priority species under the WDFW Priority Habitats and Species Project.

Maintaining stream-side vegetation is essential for controlling stream temperatures and providing cover. Since very cold water and clear gravel are required for spawning and egg incubation, protecting streams that have this habitat feature is one of the critical elements in managing bull trout.

WDFW biologists are continuing to collect the required information to better understand bull trout and Dolly Varden, and are writing a new management plan for the species. In the meantime, newly implemented, restrictive sport fishing regulations will help protect our state's only native char for this and future generations.

For more information>>

Statistics

Bull Trout


Spawning

No Data.

Rearing

No Data.

Body

No Data.

Jaw

No Data.

Tail

No Data.

Terminology

Alevin - The lifestage of a salmonid between egg and fry. An alevin looks like a fish with a huge pot belly, which is the remaining egg sac. Alevin remain protected in the gravel riverbed, obtaining nutrition from the egg sac until they are large enough to fend for themselves in the stream.

Anadromous - Fish that live part or the majority of their lives in saltwater, but return to freshwater to spawn.

Emergence - The act of salmon fry leaving the gravel nest.

Fry - A juvenile salmonid that has absorbed its egg sac and is rearing in the stream; the stage of development between an alevin and a parr.

Kype - The hooked jaw many male salmon develop during spawning.

Parr - Also known as fingerling. A large juvenile salmonid, one between a fry and a smolt.

Smolt - A juvenile salmonid which has reared in-stream and is preparing to enter the ocean. Smolts exchange the spotted camouflage of the stream for the chrome of the ocean.

Substrate - The material which comprises a stream bottom.

Bull Trout Populations List
For more information on
salmon recovery and conservation, please contact
the WDFW Fish Program.
360-902-2700
fishpgm@dfw.wa.gov

For problems accessing this
website or data found on this
website, please contact
WDFW SCoRE Help.
scorehelp@dfw.wa.gov


 
RELATED LINKS
See more Salmon/Steelhead Identification Information


Fun Facts
Did you know?
Coho and sockeye are found in freshwater year-round; coho in small coastal streams and sockeye in lakes. These fish are very susceptible to poor water quality, such as high temperatures and pollution.

Fun Facts
Did you know?
Salmon species have adapted to use virtually every part of every stream in the northwest.

Fun Facts
Did you know?
Big rivers are used by pink salmon in the lower reaches, chinook in the mainstem and larger tributaries, coho in small tribs, and steelhead in the uppermost tributaries.

Fun Facts
Did you know?
Small streams are used by chum in the lower reaches, coho next, and cutthroat in the headwaters.

Fun Facts
Did you know?
A moving fry is much easier to see than a motionless one. This is why salmon tend to spawn in parts of the stream that their offspring use for rearing; the emerging fry do not have to travel far to find rearing areas.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
The size of a salmon is usually related to its age. Pink salmon are the smallest fall-spawning salmon and are also the youngest, at two years. Chinook can live up to nine years, the longest, which is why some chinook can grow to over 100 pounds. Cutthroat, which live longer than pinks, are typically smaller because they spend less or no time feeding in productive marine waters of the north Pacific.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
There is a sixth fall-spawning salmon, the masu, or cherry salmon, which is found only in Asia. This fish occupies the same niche that the sea-run cutthroat trout occupies in North America.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species of fish; rainbow are the freshwater form, and steelhead the anadromous form.
Fun Facts
Did you know?
Steelhead and cutthroat trout were recently added to the salmon genus, Oncorhynchus, from the trout genus, Salmo. Also, the scientific name of steelhead changed from Salmo gairdneri to Oncorhynchus mykiss.