New book examines unintended effects of breeding and stocking rainbows, 'an entirely synthetic fish'

When the government perfected its ability to successfully breed rainbow trout for prime recreational fishing, there were downsides, the book An Entirely Synthetic Fish. Andres Halverson, a former reporter who boasts a Ph.D. in ecology, "probes the history of the artificial rearing and stocking of rainbow trout around the world," Steve Raymond writes in a review for The Seattle Times.

"Over the decades, rainbows have been bred to grow faster, mature earlier, and breed at different times of year," Halverson writes. "Culturists have tried to select for disease resistance, fecundity, and even such things as color, shape and fighting ability." In a 1939 report the government's chief fish culturist declared it was now possible to produce "an entirely synthetic fish." Since then rainbow trout, above, have been stocked in all 50 states and every continent except Antarctica. (Environmental Protection Agency photo)

"Rivers, lakes and reservoirs were poisoned to make way for rainbows, and rainbows were planted in many alpine lakes previously lacking fish," Raymond writes, but "The result often was disastrous for native fish species and other life." When biologists sought to determine if stocking lakes actually helped fishing they found, "stocking hatchery rainbow severely depressed native populations and actually resulted in fewer trout for anglers." Halverson's book doesn't ignore the plight of anglers and the communities that depend on the river trout, who are now fighting back as the government looks to cut back the trout population. He agrees with the anglers that it's not fair that their taxes and license fees should pay to eradicate trout. He also cautions that the advocates for cutting trout population today closely resemble those who argued for stocking a century ago, and ""they, too, were sure they were doing the right thing for the world." (Read more)