Lake trout can be very fertile into their old age.
That is the finding of a new study conducted at the Experimental Lakes Area, west of Vermilion Bay.
Dr. Craig Purchase says these fish don’t have any known predators and can grow quite old.
“We had another one that was known in the lake to be 42 or 43, and I remember talking about trying to find him, and we were eating lunch at the ELA, and there was a portrait of the Queen on the wall, so we called him (the fish) Prince Phillip,” chuckles Dr. Purchases.
“So we knew that fish in their 30’s and 40’s were there.”
Purchase says their study found that lake trout don’t age the same way as mammals do and can reproduce even when they are old.
“These extra years as old adults have a much higher reproductive potential than when they were young adults. So it’s kind of the opposite of a mammal. The theory is evolution should reward that, and they should then invest in maintaining their bodies and maintaining reproductive performance.”
Purchase says these lake trout at the Experimental Lakes Area have no known predators and aren’t affected by anglers and can grow as old as 60.
