Assembly Resolution No. 441

BY: M. of A. Miller

RECOGNIZING August 16, 2023, as Brook Trout Day in
the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to celebrate and
recognize the official fresh-water fish of this great Empire State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
recognize August 16, 2023, as Brook Trout Day in the State of New York;
and

WHEREAS, The brook trout was initially adopted as New York's state
fish in 1975; the fish was re-adopted as the official state fresh-water
fish when Governor George Pataki signed Senate Bill No. 8153 on August
16, 2006; and

WHEREAS, The beautiful fish with pink or reddish spots are known to
symbolize pure, cold water; hatched in cold water streams, brook trout
move downstream as they mature and in late summer and fall, adults move
upstream to spawn in areas where waters flow through gravel and rubble;
and

WHEREAS, Native to a wide area of Eastern North America, brook trout
generally live in small to moderate sized streams, lakes, and ponds and
are increasingly confined to higher elevations southward in the
Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and northwest South Carolina,
Canada from the Hudson Bay basin east, the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence
system, the Canadian maritime provinces, and the upper Mississippi River
drainage as far west as eastern Iowa; and

WHEREAS, Due to habitat loss and introductions of brown and rainbow
trout, brook trout are being restricted to high elevation, remote
streams; and

WHEREAS, Brook trout were eventually introduced to habitats
throughout the western United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries
by the American Acclimatization Society and by private, state, and
federal fisheries authorities; and

WHEREAS, Acclimatization movements in Europe, South America, and
Oceania resulted in brook trout introductions throughout Europe, in
Argentina, and New Zealand; a significant amount of these established
wild, self-sustaining populations of brook trout in non-native waters to
aid in protecting the species; and

WHEREAS, Brook Trout Day in New York State is meant to call for
awareness of and recognition of the importance of the brook trout and
its preservation to New York's heritage and rich history; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize August 16, 2023, as Brook Trout Day in the State of New York;
and be it further


RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC).