Genio in Duluth
11-03-2003, 06:40 AM
Efforts to restock Red Lake with walleye successful
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RED LAKE, Minn. - The walleye recovery in Red Lake is going better than state and tribal officials ever could have imagined, according to results from fall population surveys.
Walleyes stocked as fry in 1999, 2001, and 2003 all show high survival rates, said Pat Brown, tribal fisheries biologist for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Walleyes from the 1999 stocking now measure 16 to 20 inches, and males began spawning this year. Females should spawn for the first time next spring.
Red Lake's walleye population has been on the rebound since 1999, when the state and the Red Lake Band signed a recovery agreement that called for aggressive walleye stockings and a moratorium on walleye harvest until the population recovers. Commercial overharvest in tribal waters and heavy sport-fishing pressure in Minnesota's share of the lake contributed to the walleye decline.
Using stock hatched from eggs collected along the Pike River, a tributary of Lake Vermilion, the tribe and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources stocked about 40 million fry in 1999 and 32 million fry each year in 2001 and 2003.
As part of the recovery agreement, a technical committee meets annually to offer updates and share other information on the project.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RED LAKE, Minn. - The walleye recovery in Red Lake is going better than state and tribal officials ever could have imagined, according to results from fall population surveys.
Walleyes stocked as fry in 1999, 2001, and 2003 all show high survival rates, said Pat Brown, tribal fisheries biologist for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Walleyes from the 1999 stocking now measure 16 to 20 inches, and males began spawning this year. Females should spawn for the first time next spring.
Red Lake's walleye population has been on the rebound since 1999, when the state and the Red Lake Band signed a recovery agreement that called for aggressive walleye stockings and a moratorium on walleye harvest until the population recovers. Commercial overharvest in tribal waters and heavy sport-fishing pressure in Minnesota's share of the lake contributed to the walleye decline.
Using stock hatched from eggs collected along the Pike River, a tributary of Lake Vermilion, the tribe and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources stocked about 40 million fry in 1999 and 32 million fry each year in 2001 and 2003.
As part of the recovery agreement, a technical committee meets annually to offer updates and share other information on the project.