Walleye decline having major effect on Mille Lacs Lake

Calling it “the most challenging and complex problem” he’s faced in more than 30 years with the Department of Natural Resources, fisheries chief Don Pereira led the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee through a presentation Wednesday on the challenges facing the walleye population on Mille Lacs Lake and the DNR’s recent announcement of its 2015 fishing restrictions on the lake.

These regulations include a limit of one walleye that must be 19-21 inches, or longer than 28 inches, and a ban on walleye fishing from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Chief Don Pereira presents an overview of Mille Lacs Lake fishing regulations to the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee April 22. Photo by Andrew VonBank

They come in response to an ongoing decline in walleye population on the lake. Pereira said 1.2 million pounds of walleye were harvested from Mille Lacs in 1992, but the target harvest level for 2015 has been set at 40,000 pounds.

Pereira said if the walleye allocation limit is exceeded at some point this year, the DNR could implement a “catch-and-release” policy, but the agency is working to minimize that possibility.

He said Mille Lacs is already producing as many young walleye as it can, but these fish are having trouble surviving between their first and third years on the lake.

“The problem happens later on,” Pereira said. “This is the most clear and obvious result we have.”

Why they’re dying is less apparent.

The DNR has a number of theories, including water clarity, invasive species and population increases in other fish species such as northern pike, which feed on walleye. Or they may all play a role, interacting with one another in ways that aren’t yet understood.

Ripple effect

Regardless of the cause, businesses and communities on and around Mille Lacs Lake have suffered because of the walleye decline and the more stringent fishing regulations that have followed.

Mille Lacs County Commissioner Dave Oslin said residents in his area are concerned about regulations that make it harder for their businesses to survive, which reduces the tax base and harms the local economy. He reminded the committee there is “a ripple effect” from state regulations.

“Every decision that is made affects not only the resorts, it’s the coffee shop down the street, the restaurant that may be a mile away,” Oslin said.

Tina Chapman, executive director of Mille Lacs Area Tourism Council, said businesses and property owners around the lake are scared for their future and that of their communities.

“Because of the ever-changing walleye regulations, businesses, particularly fishing-oriented businesses, have experienced a decrease in their incomes,” Chapman said.

In fact, despite the decreasing numbers of walleye, Pereira said Mille Lacs is still the most heavily fished lake in the state and still a lake “that’s dominated by walleye” with “four- or five-fold” more walleye than northern pike.

Several testifiers expressed displeasure with agreements that allow some Native American tribes the right to take a percentage of the yearly walleye harvest. This year that will mean about 28.5 percent of the 40,000 pound total, according to Pereira, who said Native Americans have taken about 30 percent of the walleye killed in the lake since 1997 while state anglers have taken 70 percent.