DWR increases fish limit at Utah lakes in ’emergency change’
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — In what the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is calling an “emergency change,” anglers can now keep up to 16 trout of any species in some Utah waters.
The change was issued Monday because of an upcoming plan to help restore native cutthroat trout.
During the summer of 2025, the DWR plans to treat Fall Creek and its tributaries, including Phinney and Anderson Lakes, with rotenone. The treatment will remove non-native fish from the area in an effort to restore cutthroat trout to their native range, the DWR said.
“This emergency change will allow the public to harvest more fish from the drainage before the treatment takes place next year,” said J. Shirley, the DWR director.
What is a rotenone treatment?
Rotenone is a natural substance that is found in the sands, stems, and roots of tropical plants in the bean family, the DWR said. It has been used my many cultures for thousands of years to kill fish, which were then harvested and eaten.
Rotenone kills fish by disrupting the transfer of oxygen from the blood to other parts of the body.
In addition to increasing the diversity of angling opportunities, the DWR said rotenone treatments will help the native fish and ensure cutthroat trout populations improve.
Habitat loss, breeding with non-native trout and competition from non-native trout have caused dramatic declines in native cutthroat populations around the West, leading to concerns about the species’ future.
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