Maine's State Heritage Fish Waters

Bob Mallard, Executive Director of the Native Fish Coalition, will present on Maine's State Heritage Fish Waters and the importance of protecting our native freshwater fisheries. From the NFC website: Maine is the last stronghold for wild native lake- and pond-dwelling brook trout in the United States, accounting for more than 90% of the remaining intact populations.  The number one threat to these wild native trout is invasive fish introductions, both game and bait species. This initiative aims to help protect this ecologically, economically, socially, and recreationally important resource by trying to prevent the introduction of invasive fish species through bucket-biology and the illegal use of live fish as bait. The Native Fish Coalition is a nonpartisan, non-profit dedicated to the conservation, preservation, and restoration of wild native fish. NFC is primarily - but not exclusively - focused on gamefish, and the reason is twofold: Native gamefish are often the species that are most threatened, and what is good for these fish is good for all native fish.