Alaskan populations of lake trout include areas of very slow growth and low productivity. As a result, lake trout in Alaska are easily susceptible to overfishing. Restrictive fishing regulations and remoteness of fisheries have mostly prevented overexploitation. Strict habitat requirements make the species extremely susceptible to changes in habitat. Fortunately, the habitats occupied by the species have experienced little impact from land use or from industrial contaminants and are mostly still in pristine condition.
Listen to this U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish of the Week podcast about Lake Trout, with Jared Stone a biologist with the Office of Subsistence Management in Alaska (February 15, 2021).
