AUTHORS: Daniel Dembkowski, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Daniel Isermann, U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Jason Breeggemann, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Troy Zorn, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
ABSTRACT: Green Bay supports one of the most prominent recreational walleye fisheries in North America. The recreational fishery provides annual harvests that exceed 100,000 fish and millions of dollars to local economies. Additionally, walleye in Michigan waters contribute to an important tribal subsistence fishery designated by the Great Lakes Consent Decree for the 1836 Treaty of Washington. The popularity and socioeconomic importance of this fishery makes walleye a species of primary management interest for the Wisconsin and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources, who jointly manage this important resource. The current status of the Green Bay walleye fishery represents the successful culmination of several recovery efforts. Following collapse of walleye stocks in the 1960s due to habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, and invasive species, walleyes were intensively stocked by the Wisconsin and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources. Stocking in Wisconsin waters was largely discontinued in the mid-1980s and the stock is now entirely supported by natural recruitment. Conversely, the stock in Michigan waters in the northern portion of the bay has not fully recovered despite continued stocking. We will provide perspectives on how factors including productivity, dreissenid mussels, prey diversity, thermal-optical habitat, and portfolios of potential recruitment sources may contribute to the overall resilience of walleye stocks in Green Bay and the potential disparity in resilience between stocks in the northern and southern portions of the bay. We will also discuss various management and research activities that have helped maintain, and can potentially help build, resilience of walleye populations in Green Bay and elsewhere.
