Many states have spent significant resources trying to reintroduce river otters to areas in which they've been historically extirpated. Prior to owning a pond and managing fisheries, I would have probably reacted to trapping otters in a negative way. However, since I've educated myself on the topic and researched their negative impact on fisheries, I can't make ethical judgments based on my ignorance of the topic. Otters are intelligent and I think are very cool animals, however, once they find a fishery they simply have to be dealt with. If they can be live trapped and relocated, I'd recommend considering that first. State laws may treat killing otters rudely without a permit. Bottom line - you're likely going to feel the impact of their presence on your fishery and will likely need to address the situation.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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