Photo courtesy of Forrest Fisher Two nets mean two walleyes for Jim and Debbie Thomson, as the Lake Erie walleye schools between Sunset Bay and Barcelona Harbor have been larger than ever each year. A solid Lake Erie management plan has provided a healthy fishery.

The Lake Erie walleye and perch populations (percids) peaked in the late 1980s but then declined to low levels of abundance by the late 1990s. Then, the Lake Erie Committee decided to implement a coordinated Percid Management Strategy to achieve sustainable harvest levels for all stakeholders.

The binational Lake Erie Committee is composed of fishery managers from Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania. These five jurisdictions manage the Lake Erie fishery and set total allowable catches for each year.

In 2024, it was 12.858 million walleye and 6.554 million pounds of yellow perch. Yellow perch are allocated in pounds, and walleye are allocated by a number of fish. The 2024 TACs represented a slight decrease in walleye from 13.526 million fish and a minimal reduction for yellow perch from 6.573 million pounds from 2023. The numbers for 2025 are usually set during their annual meeting in March, just ahead.

The TAC decisions are not made in isolation. They are the result of a collaborative effort involving the LEC, scientists, field biologists and stakeholders. These groups meet annually and on an ongoing basis to analyze fisheries and agency data, estimate population levels, and recommend the annual TAC. The decisions are reflective of the status of Lake Erie’s fish populations and consider the goal of maintaining sustainable harvest each year by implementing harvest policies included in species-specific management plans. The individual state and provincial governments then implement the TAC in their jurisdiction using their respective regulations and management objectives.

For walleye, the harvest is guided by the Walleye Management Plan and advice from the Lake Erie Percid Management Advisory Group. Since the walleye fishery has not weakened in numbers — anglers catch many more walleye, but they are much smaller in size compared to the late 1980s — we are likely to hear that the LEC will share the science behind the strong walleye population. The highly successful annual hatches will likely have enabled the walleye numbers again. Perhaps we will see an increase in the allowable walleye angler daily harvest limit.

Time will tell.

In 2024, studies forecast that the average walleye size was expected to increase, resulting in a smaller decline in harvested biomass compared to the decline in the number of fish. The Province of Ontario and the states of Ohio and Michigan share the TAC based on the amount of walleye habitat within each jurisdiction in the western and central basins of the lake. Under the 2024 TAC of 12.858 million walleye in total. Ohio was entitled to 6.572 million fish, Ontario 5.536 million fish, and Michigan 0.750 million fish. Jurisdictions in eastern Lake Erie are outside the TAC area, but harvest limits are set with lake-wide objectives as a reference.

The LEC yellow perch TAC decisions are the result of implementing the management plan that includes advice from scientists and stakeholders each year through the LEPMAG. The yellow perch fishery is divided into four management units, which generally correspond to Lake Erie’s eastern, east-central, west-central, and western basins. Poor recruitment of yellow perch in the central basin is a consistent challenge, although reports show the population is showing signs of stabilizing there. LEC strives to maintain sustainable harvest while responding to changing populations influenced by many dynamic factors and environmental conditions. LEC is participating in various research efforts to better understand the recruitment of yellow perch in Lake Erie’s central basin. The five jurisdictions on the lake share Lake Erie’s yellow perch management under a surface area-based formula. As with walleye, each Lake Erie jurisdiction is responsible for allocating its portion of the TAC.

Since 2010, the LEPMAG has been instrumental in incorporating stakeholder needs and objectives into the decision-making process regarding walleye and yellow perch harvest. The LEPMAG, which comprises senior representatives from all provincial and state jurisdictions on the lake, recreational and commercial fishers, and other interested organizations, ensures that all voices are heard. Through the LEPMAG, fishery managers and stakeholders work together to identify the harvest policies for Lake Erie percids to meet the needs of all stakeholders while maintaining stability in the percid fishery. That’s a seriously tough job, but the LEPMAG is up to the task. Michigan State University’s Quantitative Fisheries Center facilitates the LEPMAG process. Walleye are managed under the Walleye Management Plan developed through the LEPMAG and formally adopted by the LEC in 2015. The LEPMAG is advising the LEC as it seeks to update both the walleye and yellow perch management plans in the coming years. The numbers for 2025 are coming soon and will be of interest to all of us.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

Feb. 27: Erie County Federation of Sportsmen, monthly meeting, 7 p.m., this month at George Washington Hiking and Camping Club, 2805 Niagara St., Buffalo. Info: call President Jack Coad, 716-481-7281.

March 1: Southtowns Walleye Association, Outfitters Fair (Flea Market), 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 7 p.m., 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, free entry, free parking. Table reservations: 716-796-5372

March 6: WNY Walleye Association, monthly meeting, 630 p.m., Curly’s Grill, 647 Ridge Road, Lackawanna, guest speaker, Capt. Dave Adrian.

March 7-9: WNY Sport and Travel Expo, Hamburg Fairgrounds, $10 admission.

NOTE: Send Calendar info or related outdoor news to forrestfisher35@yahoo.com.