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Lake Michigan Fisheries News

March, 2002

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). For additional information, visit our Lake Michigan WEB page: http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/lakemich/index.htm

Green Bay yellow perch workshops. You are invited to participate in three public workshops that will be held on the UW-Green Bay campus. The purpose of the workshops is to review yellow perch management options for Green Bay. During the first workshop (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, March 16), biologists from Sea Grant, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the DNR will discuss trends in yellow perch abundance, and review other changes that have occurred in Green Bay. This will include presentations about exotic species, cormorants, fish habitat, and predators. Workshop participants will recommend topics for more detailed discussion at the second workshop (April 20), when invited outside experts will present information about yellow perch management in Lake Erie, Oneida Lake, or other areas. The third workshop (May 18) will be used to discuss specific management or research activities that should be tried on Green Bay. The workshops have been planned by the Lake Michigan Fisheries Forum. The first will be held in Rose Hall on the UWGB campus. Enter the campus by turning onto South Circle Drive from Nicolet Drive. Take the first left and park in the Gold parking lot. Walk to Rose Hall. Signs will be posted to guide you.

Which non-native fish species should be allowed in Wisconsin? Later this year, the DNR will hold public hearings on a rule to clarify which non-native fish species may be brought into Wisconsin for fish farming, stocking, or use as bait. The rule that is under development would include a list of the non-native species that could be imported (a permissible list), with all other non-native species forbidden. An important question is what species should be on the permissible list. Rainbow trout? Tilapia? Grass Carp? Hybrid striped bass? If you would like to know more about this issue, let me know. I expect the rule to be finalized soon, and presented to the Natural Resources Board in April. At that time the NRB will be asked to authorize public hearings, which would probably be held in June.

Tilapia                                        Grass Carp                                            Striped Bass

Yellow perch sport fishing closed on Lake Michigan from May 1 through June 15. On February 27 the Natural Resources Board approved an emergency order changing the yellow perch closed season on Lake Michigan. Under this rule the closed season for yellow perch fishing will run from May 1 through June 15. The emergency order is temporary. An identical permanent change is part of the statewide rule package that will be presented on April 8 at the annual Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules Hearings and county Conservation Congress meetings.

Other Great Lakes fishing rules to be presented at the spring hearings. If you plan to attend the spring hearings, look for these questions: Lake Superior brook trout – Do you favor increasing the minimum length limit for brook trout from 15" to 20" and decreasing the daily bag limit from 5 to 1 on Lake Superior? Lake Superior tributary brook trout – Do you favor establishing catch-and-release only angling regulations for brook trout on Whittlesey Creek and Bark River? Lake Superior salmon – Do you favor eliminating the 15" minimum length limit for salmon on Lake Superior? Great Lakes cisco and whitefish – Do you favor combining the regulations for whitefish, lake herring, and their hybrids to set a daily bag limit of 10 fish in total? Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan muskellunge – Do you favor increasing the minimum length limit for muskellunge from 40" to 50" on Green Bay, northern Lake Michigan, and tributaries?

Great chinook salmon fishing. According to our creel survey, Lake Michigan anglers caught 191,000 chinook salmon last year, the highest number since 1987. Meanwhile the steelhead catch was steady, at 73,000, and the coho salmon catch dropped from 88,000 in 2000 to 47,000 in 2001.

Water quality in tributaries. The DNR is currently reviewing water quality rules with respect to the designated uses of surface waters. All Wisconsin surface waters are classified according to their use by fish and other aquatic life, and those "use designations" determine permit limits for industrial or municipal discharges. One of the options being considered is to upgrade some of the Great Lakes tributary streams that are currently classified as "warm water sport fish" to "cold water", to reflect their use by salmon and trout. The change might only be seasonal, reflecting the time of year when trout and salmon use the streams, but would have the effect of protecting those fish by limiting future discharges into the streams. An advisory committee which includes representatives of industries, municipalities, sport fishers, and environmentalists, as well as Department staff, has been meeting to discuss this issue. For more information on this contact Laura Bub (608.261.4385; laura.bub@wisconsin.gov) in the Department’s Bureau of Watershed Management.

Motorboat fuel tax formula adjustment bill (SB443). If you a) purchase gas for a motorboat, b) use public launches for your boat, or c) have an interest in tributary stream habitat, you may be interested in this legislation proposed by Senator Rob Cowles of Green Bay. It would increase the amount of motorboat fuel tax revenue that is transferred each year from the state transportation fund to the state conservation fund. It would not increase the motorboat fuel tax, but would result in an additional $6 million (approximately) being reserved for specified purposes related to water resources in Wisconsin, including launch facilities and other recreational boating projects on the Great Lakes . . .

. . . and stream-bank protection through CREP. SB443 also provides funds to help counties and the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection implement the Conservation Reserve and Enhancement Program (CREP). CREP is an approved and funded federal-state-local partnership that offers Wisconsin landowners an opportunity to voluntarily enroll agricultural lands into conservation practices, such as riparian buffers. There is no waiting period, enrollment and eligibility determinations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $200 million to Wisconsin landowners, and the State of Wisconsin is contributing an additional $40 million. Payments are designed to establish conservation practices, such as acquiring permanent easements to agricultural land along streams to create buffers that will enhance water quality and stream habitat.

Trap net depths and seasons in Lake Michigan. In December, the Natural Resources Board approved changes in the maximum depths for commercial trap nets in Lake Michigan. Under the new rule, which took effect March 1, trap nets may be set as deep as 150 feet. A still unresolved issue is the possibility of providing opportunities for trap netting in our Zone 3 (all waters south of 44° 40’ north latitude). Presently, trap nets in Zone 3 must be removed from the water from June 28 through Labor Day. DNR biologists are looking into the possibility of relaxing that rule. In any case, we will be trying to develop specific new requirements regarding net marking, to be sure sport trollers can easily stay clear of the trap nets.

DNR Law Enforcement – U.S. Coast Guard Partnership. Conservation Wardens and USCG personnel have been conducting joint aerial patrols over Lake Michigan this winter to ensure compliance with commercial fishing restricted areas. Based on the success of this effort, it is expected that these joint patrols will continue into the summer months, focusing on additional areas of boating and sport fishing enforcement. Because the USCG air crews are conducting routine training and homeland security flights over the lake, participation by Conservation Wardens requires no added cost to the tax payer.