|
Fisheries biologists aren’t sure what caused the yellow perch
populations to crash in Green Bay and Lake Michigan, but it appears the
fish are on the rebound.Bill Horns, Great Lakes fisheries specialist for the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, estimates that public hearings on
increasing the harvest will be held in May.
Discuss on Educated Angler ( 0 )
The Natural Resources Board will review DNR proposals in June or July, with the legislature expected to review the matter and make a decision around the fall, Horns said. The ultimate goal is to establish more of an automatic rulemaking system that will make setting the perch rules easier and faster, he added.
Although these familiar little panfish may be small, they are an important catch for both commercial and recreational anglers, said Bill Horns, Great Lakes fisheries specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“It’s a pretty big deal in Green Bay,” said Horns, who is coordinating the rulemaking process to set new commercial and recreational perch limits. “A lot of things have changed in the bay.”
Horns said pollutants probably are not to blame for the perch population crash of the early to mid-1990s. Most species in the perch family do see significant natural population fluctuations, he noted.
Phil Moy, fisheries and invasive species specialist with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant at Manitowoc, said a Yellow Perch Task Group has identified 16 factors that may have contributed to the perch decline.
Alewives, small fish similar to herring and one of many invasive (non-native) species, compete directly with perch and also eat perch larvae, Moy said.
A more likely culprit is the double-crested cormorant, a fish-eating bird that itself was in trouble a few decades ago because of the pesticide DDT. But just as the bald eagle has rebounded from the DDT ban in 1972, cormorants have, too, he said.
A study by a University of Wisconsin at Green Bay researcher indicated that cormorants eat as many yellow perch as the catch of commercial and recreational anglers combined, Moy said.
As the perch population has begun to rebound in recent years, the harvest limits have been increased.
The Bay of Green Bay’s 21 licensed commercial perch anglers had a combined harvest limit of 60,000 pounds in 2006, up from 20,000 pounds in recent years, Moy said. There is currently no commercial fishing of perch allowed on Lake Michigan.
Years ago, recreational anglers enjoyed large catches in Green Bay.
“It’s a tradition,” Moy said. “People have gotten accustomed to getting 30, 40, 50 a day.”
The daily limit per angler dropped from 50 to 25, and finally 10 fish a few years ago.
It went to 15 perch last summer, Horns said.
A series of workshops on the perch fishery have been held since 2002 to educate the public about the little fish’s population dynamics.
Most recreational anglers, including the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Club, have taken a conservative approach to increased harvests, but commercial anglers are a bit more eager to see their harvest total increased, Horns noted.
Most yellow perch do not stray far from their birth waters, so the Green Bay perch fishery typically does not affect perch populations in inland waters, Moy said.
|
News 
