Fishing Restricted in Part of Hatchery Cove to Protect Spawning Salmon

A small portion of Hatchery Cove, a popular fishing spot on Lake Champlain in Grand Isle, is now closed to fishing effective October 1 through November 30 under a new Commissioner’s Order from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

The closure aims to provide a safe corridor for the landlocked Atlantic salmon that gather in Hatchery Cove before migrating up the nearby Hatchery Brook to spawn each fall.  The closed corridor is a 20 ft. x 100 ft. area of cove directly in front of Hatchery Brook, centered on the brook and extending out from the water’s edge into Lake Champlain.  The corridor area has been clearly marked with signs in the field.

“We have two years of angler data showing a very high number of people at all hours of the day and night fishing Hatchery Cove directly in front of the brook during the fall salmon run,” said Bernie Pientka, a fish biologist with the department.  “That kind of fishing pressure can disrupt salmon passage into Hatchery Brook.  We’re closing a small portion of the cove to fishing to give the salmon a protected corridor into Hatchery Brook.”

The landlocked Atlantic salmon population in Lake Champlain is mostly supported by fish reared in the department’s hatcheries and released into the lake as young.  Adult salmon can live for many years in the wild and return to Hatchery Brook to spawn each fall. 

Hatchery Brook does not have the right kind of habitat for salmon eggs to survive in the wild.  However, fish culture staff with the department collect eggs from the fall spawning run and raise them in hatcheries to stock back into Lake Champlain.  This practice ensures that traits from salmon that have survived in the lake long enough to spawn are passed on to the next generation of hatchery-raised fish.

“Over the last two years our egg collection from Hatchery Brook was lower than we’d hoped,” said Pientka.  “We’ll track egg collection over the next couple of years to see if the limited closure is effective at balancing continued fishing in the cove at large while also allowing more salmon to migrate up Hatchery Brook and spawn.”