Abundance of native fishes, wild-introduced salmonids and escaped farmed rainbow trout in a Patagonian reservoir

The introduction of salmonids in Patagonia has resulted in significant impacts on its lakes, as well as a major impact on streams, in which native fishes seem to have been displaced almost completely by rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). Another perspective is that the introduced salmonid species have resulted in wild fish populations that sustain an economically important sport fishery. The wide distribution and high abundance of escaped farmed rainbow trout, and a clear decrease in the abundance of native and successfully introduced salmonid species in Alicura Reservoir were all observed, based on comparison of recent data and data from 1993 to 1995 corresponding to littoral gillnet captures. Thus, both native fish and introduced salmonid populations seem to have been drastically reduced in the presence of farmed fish escapees. The results of the present study regarding fish escapes deserve major consideration when making decisions about fish cage culture activities for other Patagonian reservoirs.