New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Back to State of NJ Homepage Back to Fish and Wildlife Homepage Back to NJ DEP Homepage

Draft Coldwater Fisheries Management Plan

Trout stocking’s popularity among anglers makes it one of New Jersey Fish and Wildlife’s best-known fishing programs. Yet, anglers and other sportsmen might be interested in learning more about trout management and a host of other work related to our state’s coldwater fisheries and what’s planned for the future.

Our Coldwater Fisheries Management Plan offers a wealth of information about trout in New Jersey and the activities devoted to managing the state’s trout resources. The draft plan, for the first time, presents detailed information on a wide range of topics including self-sustaining trout populations, habitat protection and enhancement, fish culture and utilization of cultured trout, angler preferences and fishing regulations, fish health, angler access, public outreach, and program funding and staffing.

The fisheries management plan seeks to identify issues and concerns affecting the future of New Jersey’s coldwater resources and recreational trout fishing, and to develop strategies to meet specific goals during the next five years, 10 years and beyond.

Public participation is a vital element of Fish and Wildlife’s strategic planning process. Anglers, conservation organizations, government agencies, landowners, business representatives and other stakeholders are encouraged to review and comment on the draft plan. Public comment on the draft plan will be accepted until September 15, 2004. Comments should be sent to:

Coldwater Fisheries Management Plan Comments
Martin J. McHugh, Director
NJ Div. of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 400
Trenton, NJ 08625-0400
Copies of the draft plan are available for review at Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Northern, Central and Southern Region field offices, the Lebanon Field Office, the Pequest Trout Hatchery and the Trenton office. Phone numbers and addresses for these offices can be found on page 3 of the Digest and on the Contact Us page.

The draft plan is also available for review on this Web site in its entirety or in sections. It is in PDF format which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print. The Reader is available free from Adobe's Web site. Approximate file size is provided for estimating download time.

Executive Summary - Contains: Summary of Draft Plan (150kb)
Draft Coldwater Fisheries Management Plan - entire document (12.3mb)
Cover - page 2 - Contains: Cover, Grant Agreement, Authors and staff, Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Appendices and Introduction (155kb)
Pages 3 - 28 - Contains: History of Trout Management, Trout Life History and Ecology and Fish Fact Sheets (680kb)
Pages 29 - 46 - Contains: Classification of NJ Trout Waters and Management of Habitat (4.6mb)
Pages 47 - 64 - Contains: Management of Wild Trout (960kb)
Pages 65 - 118 - Contains: Culture of Salmonids, Fish Health Management of Salmonids and Management of Cultured Trout and Allocation Methodology for Cultured Trout (1.1mb)
Pages 119 - 156 - Contains: Fishing Regulations for Trout (1.4mb)
Pages 157 - 202 - Contains: Communications and Public Outreach, Funding and Program Goals and Strategies (225kb)
Pages 203 - 216 - Contains: Literature Cited and Glossary (65kb)
Appendix A - Contains: Field Data Sheets (2.4mb)
Appendix B - Contains: Classification of NJ Waters as Related to Their Suitability for Trout (55kb)
Appendix C - Contains: Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center - Access Guidelines (10kb)
Appendix D - Contains: Plan for Utilization of Hatchery Surplus Trout (70kb)
Appendix E - Contains: Trout-stocked Waters Database and Allocations for 2003 (45kb)
Appendix F - Contains: Waters Stocked by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife (25kb)
Appendix G - Contains: Inventory of Waterbodies for Coldwater Management (Existing and Potential) (530kb)

Back to Fish and Wildlife Homepage Back to NJ State Homepage Back to NJ DEP Homepage