Uncertainty, anxiety, and optimism: Diverse perspectives of rainbow and steelhead trout fisheries governance in British Columbia

•We examine the perceptions on the status of rainbow trout in British Columbia.•Rainbow trout are not perceived to be threatened provincially but steelhead are.•Fisheries managers were criticized for not doing enough to protect fish populations.•Insufficient resources & confusion in jurisdictional authority cause mismanagement.•Economic social and political drivers may be increasingly superseding conservation.