COLUMBUS, OH -The Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission has announced annual harvest quotas for the 2002 Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch fisheries, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
The Lake Erie Committee is made up of fisheries managers representing Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario. Each year this group determines the status of Lake Erie fish stocks and sets the annual total allowable catch (TAC), which is the estimated number of fish that can be taken from the lake without harming populations.
By pooling our resources to monitor and manage this great fishery, were helping to ensure a strong fish population and equitable distribution between our member states, said Roger Knight, ODNRS Lake Erie Committee representative.
For 2002, the committee has set the walleye TAC for the entire lake at 3.4 million fish, the same number allowed in 2001.
Last year we committed as a group to lowering the walleye TAC to allow the population at least three years to rebuild, said Gary Isbell, fish management and research administrator for ODNRs Division of Wildlife. Isbell said the 2001 walleye catch was 2.9 million fish, well within the committees recommendations.
Each state is allotted a share of the total allowable catch, determined by a formula based on surface area within each jurisdiction. Ohio and Ontario receive the highest quotas because their waters encompass the highest percentage of the lake. Of the 2002 quota of 3.4 million fish, Ohio's share is just over 1.7 million, about 51 percent of the total. Ontario's share is about 1.4 million walleye, about 43 percent of the total allocation. The remainder is shared by New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Anglers will not experience any change in the daily bag limit for walleye swimming in Ohio waters of Lake Erie and its tributaries. They can catch four fish from March 1 through April 30, and six fish from May 1 through the last day in February.
Sport fishing on Lake Erie is a catalyst that draws anglers from all across the U.S. and helps boost local economies all along the lakeshore.
Last year was great, and we expect it to be equally good this year," said Isbell. There are a lot of 17- to 18-inch walleye from the 1999 hatch, and plenty of 22- to 26-inchers from the 1996 hatch, he added.
This three-year conservation effort for walleye follows similar action taken by the Lake Erie Committee to boost the population of yellow perch.
Weve been monitoring the yellow perch situation closely, and we believe perch are now showing signs of good recovery, said Isbell.
The perch population is improved to the point the Lake Erie Committee set the total allowable catch for yellow perch in 2002 at 9.3 million pounds, up from 7.1 million pounds in 2001.
Yellow perch quotas for individual jurisdictions surrounding the lake are based on a different sharing formula than walleye, involving surface area and past fishing performance. Last years total catch of yellow perch on Lake Erie was 6.9 million pounds.
Ohio's share of the 2002 perch allocation is slightly more than four million pounds, about one million above last year.
The sport fishing catch for yellow perch was tremendous last year and we anticipate it growing even more, said Isbell. Last year we saw a lot of limit catches, and better angler success than in previous years. This year, we should see even more 30-fish limit catches.
Isbell said that good perch fishing started earlier than usual last year and ended late. He expects this year to be even better.
Ontario will receive about 4.8 million pounds and Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York will share the remainder. Ohio's portion of the yellow perch quota is then allocated between sport and commercial fisheries.
The daily bag limit for sport anglers remains at 30 perch per angler. Existing commercial fishery regulations also remain in effect.