Lake Michigan Fisheries News
February 12, 2001
TO: People interested in Great Lakes fisheries
FROM: Bill Horns, Great Lakes Fisheries Specialist
This is an update on some of the issues facing us on the Great Lakes. If you have questions or comments about the topics discussed here or any other issues related to Great Lakes fisheries, contact me by phone (608.266.8782), FAX (608.266.2244), or e-mail (william.horns@wisconsin.gov).
Green Bay yellow perch. In response to preliminary data indicating that the Green Bay yellow perch population may be in trouble, the Department has initiated a proposal to protect the remaining yellow perch and maximize the likelihood of a recovery by closing the sport and commercial harvest of yellow perch from Green Bay. This is the starting point, not the end of the process. Our proposal can be amended in light of new data and public comments. There are several steps in the rule-making process. First, the Department asks the Natural Resources Board to approve hearings on the proposed rule. If the NRB approves hearings on this proposal, the hearings will be held in April or May. Based on public discussions, written comments, and comments made orally at the hearings, the Department then will make a final recommendation to the NRB. That recommendation could be to adopt, amend, or reject the rule proposal. The rule would take effect only after formal adoption by the NRB. Throughout this process we welcome your input.
What is the problem? Yellow perch abundance in Green Bay has declined 90% since the late 1980’s, reflecting a number of years of poor reproduction. With the exception of 1998, we have not seen good natural reproduction since 1991. Department biologists estimate that in 1988 the total weight of all yellow perch in Green Bay was around 10,000,000 pounds. Today it’s a tenth of that. The sport fishing harvest from Green Bay, which exceeded 3 million fish in 1990 and 1991, dropped to 191,000 fish in 2000. The commercial harvest limit, which was set at 475,000 pounds in 1989, has been reduced in stages to the present level of 200,000. The commercial harvest during the year ending June 30, 2000, was only 138,000 pounds, and since then only 19,000 pounds of yellow perch have been harvested commercially from the Bay. What is the cause? We don’t know. The decline may simply be an expression of natural variation, attributable to many factors. Many of you will remember that in the early 1980’s the yellow perch population was also very low. Early summer weather patterns appear to be important for reproduction, with gradual, steady warming favoring good reproduction, so maybe we’ve just been having bad luck with weather. But we should also remember that the Green Bay ecosystem is very different than it was 20 years ago. Cormorants have rebounded, water levels are at record lows, wetland habitats have been lost, and the Bay is loaded with exotic species, including white perch, alewives, and zebra mussels. None of those species has been proven to be capable of affecting the yellow perch population in Green Bay (and in Lake Erie the yellow perch population has increased in recent years in the presence of all of those species), but maybe in combination they are taking a toll in Green Bay. Because the problem seems to stem from poor reproduction, even when the adult population was high, over-fishing was probably not the cause of the decline.
Lake Michigan Planning. Three public meetings are scheduled to help us update the Lake Michigan Integrated Fisheries Management Plan. The purpose of this round of meetings is to review issues that have been raised at earlier meetings, and to start listing objectives for possible inclusion in the Plan. Each meeting will focus on one of the three issue categories identified based on issues raised at earlier meetings, but all three meetings are open to your ideas about any part of our program. Please plan to attend one of the following meetings:
March 1 – Focus on sport fishing issues – 6 to 9 p.m.
WATER Institute, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI.
March 7 – Focus on commercial fishing issues – 6 to 9 p.m.
Wells Fargo Conference Room, Lakeshore Technical College, 1290 North Ave., Cleveland, WI.
March 13 – Focus on habitat and ecosystem issues – 6 to 9 p.m.
Brown County Library, 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI
