Introduction of Mysis relicta

Opossum shrimp were introduced as forage for kokanee salmon in Flathead Lake following a 1949 introduction in Kootenay Lake, British Columbia. The B.C. introduction was intended to increase growth rates of rainbow trout in Kootenay Lake, but instead, growth rates increased for kokanee salmon. This growth increase proved to be related to upwelling conditions in Kootenay Lake which provided the shrimp to the kokanee population. These conditions do not exist in Flathead Lake.