Anglers can look forward to fishing this spring at Spider Lake, as the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. released 1,800 Fraser Valley rainbow trout into the water on Thursday afternoon (March 4).
The society is a non-profit organization solely responsible for stocking B.C.’s freshwater lakes for the province.
Every year, the society releases 6,000 catchable-size rainbow trout into Spider Lake, approximately 3,000 each spring and 3,000 during the fall.
The society is funded mainly through freshwater fishing licence revenues. Of the 354,000 anglers who bought freshwater fishing licences in 2019-20, 80 per cent were B.C. residents, 12 per cent were visitors from other Canadian provinces and eight per cent were international anglers.
The sale of basic fishing licences is up 17 per cent by B.C. residents, down three per cent by visitors from other Canadian provinces, and down 94 per cent by visitors from out of country, compared to the previous year.
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“Interest in fishing, like many outdoor activities, has grown during the pandemic, as people discover, or rediscover, that fishing is a safe way to connect with friends, family and nature,” the society stated in a press release.
Freshwater anglers spend almost $500 million to fish in the province. It takes place mostly in rural areas, contributing to the employment of 3,500 people, $39 million in provincial tax revenue and $25 million in federal tax revenue.
From its six hatcheries, the society, throughout 2020 stocked 5.63 million rainbow trout, coastal cutthroat trout, eastern brook trout and kokanee into 662 lakes across the province.
On Vancouver Island, the society has released 9,800 coastal cutthroat trout and 155,000 rainbow trout into 58 lakes last year.