Harvest Quota Cut in Half

[DTro]

With walleye populations on Mille Lacs Lake apparently falling more than biologists expected, Minnesota and American Indian officials have announced lower — by half — “safe harvest” levels for 2013.

The safe harvest quotas agreed to by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, amount to the maximum tonnage of walleyes that can be killed in a year and are a key factor in determining creel and size limits for anglers this year.

Those regs will be set later this winter, following meetings with Mille Lacs fishermen and resort operators.

According to Charlie Rasmussen, spokesman for GLIFWC, the following quotas were agreed to late last week: (In parentheses are the 2012 figures.)

Total harvest: 250,000 pounds (500,000)

Minnesota (non-tribal members): 178,750 (357,500)

Tribal members: 71,250 (142,500)

The striking cut in total quota follows a summer when many anglers had trouble finding walleye small enough — smaller than the protected slot — to legally keep to eat and fall DNR gillnet surveys that netted the fewest walleye in 40 years.

The lower harvest levels are a full reversal for Indian bands, which previously had indicated they would seek to increase their share of the total harvest, increasingly over the next five years. That’s on hold.

The 2012 total kill, an estimate that attempts to include hooking mortality, for the state was 309,906 pounds and for the bands was 79,340.

[Vitreus]

Nice.

[123fish]

Any guess on what that will translate to as far as a slot limit and bag limit?

[pushbutton]

Probably close to the same slot with a bag of two.

[Buckskin]

This a great news for the lake, when will this go in effect?

[leech~~]

I'm glad both sides came to a more realistic agreement and hopefully Mill Lacs will not end up like another Red lake.

[northender]

But who knows if the bands will net during the spawn? If they do, what really changes?

[pushbutton]

.......nothing. The bands won't take more than this year, and the non native take has essentially already been cut from the lack of keeper fish. Kind of a fluff deal ..... suppose it will help in the future if the numbers do increase or if the sample net were skewed for any number of reasons. Bands will probably getting a bigger share in the future though, So for good or bad, am assuming this is going to be as good as it gets for awhile. Curious if the protection for pike and bass have changed.

Buckskin, I don't know .....but would think the upcoming year, after the ice season ends.

[tfin]

anybody know what the estimated the hooking mortality rate totalled in pounds?

[gregg52]

my 2cents

please dont spend my license or tax money on a loss cause !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pushbutton]

I read a really long dnr study on it...but not that well because it was a really long dnr study .....and think hooking mortality on an average year would be estimated around 80,000lbs, but a year like last....who knows because of the sheer amount of poundage of fish caught during open water. Ranges as a percentage go anywhere from something like 5 percent during the winter, 10 percent during spring and fall all the way up to the 20's during the hot summer months.

[gregg52]

I'm not buying theses estimates of the dnr at all

I dont think they arte even close

like fellegey said these creel guys dont even come close to

getting real counts

dont quite get what you are saying there piushbutton

do you mean fish caught or just fished killed?

these slots and releasing alot of these is killing them

might as well keep them

another thought on cuttin things in half for next year

do REALLY think that is going to AMOUNT to any thing????

what then the following year then cut the half in half ??

the following year ???? half of nothing ????/

where does it stop????

[northender]

anybody know what the estimated the hooking mortality rate totalled in pounds?

In 2012 I think it was about half the angler harvest--around 130,000-140,000 lbs.? Maybe I am off though?

[DTro]

I'm not buying theses estimates of the dnr at all

I dont think they arte even close

like fellegey said these creel guys dont even come close to

getting real counts

So how else are you supposed to get an accurate estimate?

[pushbutton]

I'm not buying theses estimates of the dnr at all

I dont think they arte even close

like fellegey said these creel guys dont even come close to

getting real counts

[fishgutz77]

lets consider the biological effects on the lake, stick a camera down now and all the rocks I've seen are covered with Z's, that are taking a toll on YOP that are the main forage base.

Now consider netting walleyes that are full of egges during the tribal season.

there is no net and release.

the lake will not recover all year classes until care is taken not to prey on fat females during the spawn.

and lastly leave the slot constant, so that fish that make it through the harvestable slot do not get beat up agian a year or two later. If it weren't for the mud that will not support Z's that lake would be sinking faster as the mud always produces food.

[Walleyehooker]

Gonna take a long time for the lake to come around even with half the quota as you still have everyone targeting the same size fish. Those old fish also dont live forever and you have a fast growing smallie population. Gonna be interesting to say the least.

[Walleyehooker]

Might be good news if you want to buy property or a fish house up there but not so good news for Resorts,businesses,jobs or guides.

[jigginjim]

maybe the dnr should think about letting guys keep some of the bigger fish. To let the year classes grow and not have much pressure.

[harvey lee]

lets consider the biological effects on the lake, stick a camera down now and all the rocks I've seen are covered with Z's, that are taking a toll on YOP that are the main forage base.

Now consider netting walleyes that are full of egges during the tribal season.

there is no net and release.

the lake will not recover all year classes until care is taken not to prey on fat females during the spawn.

and lastly leave the slot constant, so that fish that make it through the harvestable slot do not get beat up agian a year or two later. If it weren't for the mud that will not support Z's that lake would be sinking faster as the mud always produces food.

I totally agree.

[Ryan_V]

lets consider the biological effects on the lake, stick a camera down now and all the rocks I've seen are covered with Z's, that are taking a toll on YOP that are the main forage base.

Now consider netting walleyes that are full of egges during the tribal season.

there is no net and release.

the lake will not recover all year classes until care is taken not to prey on fat females during the spawn.

and lastly leave the slot constant, so that fish that make it through the harvestable slot do not get beat up agian a year or two later. If it weren't for the mud that will not support Z's that lake would be sinking faster as the mud always produces food.

YUP!!!!!!!! great post

[John Mickish]

The lake is going thru many different changes right now, changes that there isn't a quick and easy answer for.

I've said it before and I'll say it here again. You don't have to keep the fish you catch, and if you do want to keep fish, there are better options than Mille Lacs.

On a semi-related side note, there is no way anyone can expect a creel survey to be 100% accurate. It's a best guess average at best.

Case in point. Last year my partner and I stopped at local bait store early in the morning, it was already hot we we where both wearing shorts. The owner of the store said to us "How are you going to keep fish dressed like that". My partner and I looked at each other like WTH? The owner goes on to explain that the best way to bring the illegal fish off the lake was to fillet them in the boat, put the fillets in bread bags and put them down your pants legs.

No kidding, I swear that is 100% true. How can the creel guys account for actions like that? They can't.

[leech~~]

[quote=gregg52I'm not buying theses estimates of the dnr at all

I dont think they arte even close

like fellegey said these creel guys dont even come close to

getting real counts

[/quote

So how else are you supposed to get an accurate estimate?

I think I have said this before on another thread but why does the DNR even need to do their own Gill net testing at all? All they have to do is show up and do a count of real fish numbers being taken during the spring Tribe netting, why take more fish to do the same thing? The fish in the DNR nets are special or something? Data is data!

[CaptainMusky]

If the tribal quota and non-tribal quota are both cut in half I see this as a step toward the right direction, but I think beyond that the telling information will be what the slot is. If they keep it as it is currently, I think that is not going to have a dramatic impact.

I say cut the limit to two fish, but increase the slot slightly. Otherwise they arent really going to help anything much.

For those that wanted to keep fish last year it was already difficult to find 2 "unders". So it really wouldnt change much this year.

I say the slot should be something like 14 to 20 or something, but 2 fish.

[gregg52]

Yup the good thing there is 9999 other lakes in minnesota

just as good for real fisherman that can catch fish !!!!!!!!

like I said send my money to gull or winnie...lol

[randerson]

Do you think that The Z's are hurting the lake??? Take a look at the infested waters by the Z's they are the Best Fisheries that the State has. Mille Lacs, Gull, Tonka all hold record class fish and all are infested with the Zebra Mussels that the DNR is spending all there revenue on. Seems kind of Fishy to me. Its a circle of life the water is cleaner which will allow other kinds of algae to grow causing the next bad thing to happen.

I agree netting durning the Spawn is not the answer. I can't imagine fishing while the netters were out either unfortunately they have been giving the rights to do so. I could only imagine what would be next the lake gets designated netting areas?

[gizmoguy]

Good post but the nets harvest mostly male walleyes and that is what the DNR test nets showed too. So its even more complicated.

[northender]

The netting is the sole reason there is such a restrictive slot limit that put the whole thing into the imbalance it is in. The news quotes the band spokes-person that they agree the lake is not producing as it should be. But then they propose gill-netting during the spawn. huh?

[GravelBar]

The DNR needs to take a couple years off of stripping eggs from Mille Lacs Lake to use to stock other area lakes. Leave it alone for 2 to 3 years.

[gizmoguy]

I don't believe the DNR ever stripped eggs from Mille Lacs. Thats usaully done in a stream type setup.