The Lake Erie Committee has recently announced a significant reduction in the 2007 total allowable catch (TAC) for Lake Erie walleye and yellow perch.

The Lake Erie Committee which is made up of fishery managers from Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario, and Pennsylvania collaborate on fishing quotas for commercial and sport fishing.

The walleye and yellow perch numbers are lower than the 2006 numbers when Ohio’s share of walleye was approximately 5 million. The 2007 numbers for walleye are a little more than 5 million for all of Lake Erie, leaving Ohio’s share at 2.75 million, a 54 percent decrease.

Ohio's yellow perch quota is 4.3 million pounds of the lake-wide 11.4 million pounds which signals a 34 percent reduction from last year.

The TAC is based on a complex modeling program that takes into account a number of factors including: how many fish are in the lake, how many where fished out, how many are dying and how many more are being introduced to the ecosystem.

“It’s a very complicated process. We have long-term datasets going back to the 70’s in order to track how long the hatches stay in the fishery.” says Roger Knight, ODNR Division of Wildlife. “It’s kind of like hitting a moving target.”

With a two to three year cycle, this year’s reduction is a result of a weak walleye and yellow perch reproduction cycles from 2002, 2004, and 2006. Although there is no easy answer to why fishing stocks are down the possible explanations are many.

“Weather can have a huge effect. It can influence reproduction,” he explains. “There’s also global warming and lake levels … invasive species even invertebrates, prey fish … changes in nutrients and habitat.”

Click on these links to read more about Lake Erie fishing and harvests.