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Views differ on future of walleye on Mille Lacs LakeBy T.W. Budig Two different views of walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs surfaced Tuesday (April 30) during a House hearing on fisheries management. Dick Sternberg, a Mille Lacs landowner, biologist, and a former DNR employee, testified before a joint environment and natural resources policy and finance committee hearing, that walleye slot limits in effect on the lake are causing an abundance of big walleyes and causing smaller baitfish species to become depleted. ìThis is sort of an unprecedented buildup of big walleyes,î said Sternberg. He believes the population of baitfish in Mille Lacs has already ìcrashed,î said Sternberg. Because of a lack of baitfish, Sternberg contends the entire walleye population is endanger. He cited the ravenous appetites of walleyes in Mille Lacs and the narrow girth of larger walleye as signs of a diminished food supply. Sternbergís criticism of DNRís walleye management on 130,000-acre Mille Lacs focused on a number of areas. He questioned the DNRís computer modeling of the walleye population, saying DNR gill netting on the lake is a limited means of gathering data and that the computer modeling has a wide margin of error. The DNR maintains that the ten to 30 percent margin of error is good and they have a quite accurate estimation of the fish population. Beyond what he considers are shaky walleye population numbers, Sternberg also criticized the DNRís treaty management ñ the result of the successful lawsuit by the Lake Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ñ as being overly cautious. This year the safe harvest amount cited for the Mille Lacs is about 400,000 pounds of walleye, said Sternberg. Yet the pretreaty level of safe harvest was close to 200,000 pounds more than it is now. ìWhat this indicates is a very stable (walleye) population,î said Sternberg. Currently, the DNR is proposing a 14-16 slot limit on walleyes in Mille Lacs, restricting the four bag limit to walleyes in this range plus one 28-inch or bigger ìtrophyî walleye. In June, the slot-limit on the lake may be increased to 14-17 inches. One objection Sternberg voiced about slot-limits is that a lot of walleye are caught and thrown back. He estimates that about 15 percent of walleye, pulled from the deep when hooked, die as the result. This accounts for about 170,000 pounds of hooking mortality, he said. So the DNR has cut back the harvest by about 200,000 pounds yet is losing about 170,00 pounds of walleye to hook mortality. ìIs this sensible fish managementî asked Sternberg. But DNR officials poked holes in Sternbergís data, saying the walleye population in Mille Lacs in general is in good shape. ìWe simply do not believe the population will collapse,î said Ron Paron, of the DNR. DNR officials explained they believe that the 400,000-450,000 pound walleye harvest amount is a sustainable level. They disputed Sternbergís assertion that pretreaty harvest amounts were much larger. As for the baitfish, the officials said it wasnít the larger walleye that eat the most baitfish, itís the smaller walleye. Itís a misnomer to think reducing the number of big walleye will boost baitfish levels, said the DNRís Jack Wingate. But Wingate agreed that baitfish numbers in all species are down in Mille Lacs. But he questioned the idea that older, breeding baitfish are gone from the lake. ìJust because we donít catch any in our trawls doesnít mean thereís zero out there,î he said. The DNR officials agreed with Sternberg on one issue: that is if the walleye population in the lake seriously declines, it will take years to rebuild. Rep. Sondra Erickson, R, Princeton, said having the walleye hearing was valuable as the state enters negotiations with the Indian bands on a new five-year fishing agreement. Erickson, who believe Sternbergís data credible and the biologist possessing a deep understanding of Mille Lacs, said itís critical the lake be managed on biological principles ó not treaty considerations. ìTo have a lake ruled by the Supreme Court is a new experience for people,î said Erickson. Local people and the Mille Lacs business community are frustrated by the lack of consistency they see in DNR fish management on the lake, said Erickson. ìThey ask why doesnít the state, the Legislature, the bureaucracy ó in this case the DNR ó listen to us,î she said. She doesnít believe the DNR has a good understanding of the walleye population levels in the lake, said Erickson. The DNR negotiates harvest quotas with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. According to the DNR website, the commission usually wants to establish harvest quotes at much lower rates than DNR biologist believe is necessary. But in order to keep the matter from going to court, the DNR usually agrees to lower harvest amounts. The current safe harvest walleye amount is at 24 percent. Itís estimated that 20 percent to 30 percent of walleyes dies naturally each year. ©ECM Post Review |