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Message Subject: Changing Times & Regs for Sag.Bay discussed.

walleye express

Posted 3/6/2015 8:11 AM (#112913)
Subject: Changing Times & Regs for Sag.Bay discussed.

Member

Posts: 2680

Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay.

The future of our Lake Huron Walleye and Perch fishing was discussed on Jan 26th in Clare. Here are the minutes of that meeting.

Hi Everyone,

Attached are the draft minutes to the January 26, Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee meeting for your review. If there are any additions or corrections, please let me know by Friday March 20.

The next Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Monday April 13, 2015 at Jays Sporting Goods Inc. in Clare. Several topics will be discussed at the meeting including yellow perch management options. See the specific items below:

Continuation of the discussion on increasing the bag limit of walleye and other potential walleye regulations changes with the goal of reducing predation on yellow perch and providing more fishing opportunities for walleye. Specific regulation changes will be recommended.

·Discussion of how cormorants will be managed in Saginaw Bay this year.

·Update on the progress toward rehabilitation of cisco in Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron.

·Discussion of the results of the steelhead pen study to learn if keeping steelhead in pens before stocking increases survival.

·A review of the Coded Wire Tag returns for Chinook salmon which show the migration patterns.

·Overview of the Saginaw Bay reef project.

·Finalize the details of the Sea Grant Workshops.

·Management and Law Enforcement updates

Lake Huron Citizens
Fishery Advisory Committee
Established by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to improve and maintain fishery resources
of Lake Huron through better communication and partnership.
Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee
Jays Sporting Goods, Clare, Michigan
Monday, January 26, 2015
Draft

Attendees: Tony Aderman, Jim Baker, Dave Borgeson, Damon Brown, Pete Butchko, Doreen Campbell, Lance Campbell, Dave Caroffino, Randy Claramunt, Robin DeBruyne, Jim DeClerck, Larry Desloover, Ed Eisch, Clarence Fetrow, Dave Fielder, Andy Gonske, Todd Grischke, Greg Gumbrecht, Tom Hamilton, Mike Heckman, Lindsey Henski, Katy Hintzen, Jim Johnson, Tom Keerl, Rick Kretzschmar, Frank Krist, Nels Larsen, Steve Lepeak, Ken Merckel, Craig Milkowski, Judy Ogden, William Olar, Eric Plant, Bob Reider, Ed Retherford, Ed Roseman, Brandon Schroeder, Alan Seiferlein, Dana Serafin, Jerry Serafin, Julie Shafto, Tony Soave, Fred Sterns, Aaron Switzer, Scott Szafranski, Randy Terrian, Terry Walsh, Donna Wesander, Gary Whelan, Dennis White, Todd Wills, Ralph Zimmermann.

Welcome and Introductions: Frank Krist called the meeting to order. Frank introduced Todd Wills, new Research Station Manager for Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Introductions were made.
Potential benefits of increasing the walleye bag limit in Saginaw Bay/Lake Huron (David Fielder, DNR Great Lakes Research Biologist; Todd Grischke, DNR Fisheries Division Lake Huron Basin Coordinator and Jim Baker, Fisheries Division Supervisor Southern Lake Huron Management Unit):
Yellow Perch Presentation:

The catch rates of yellow perch have been trending down in Saginaw Bay since the mid 1980s and have been very low since the mid 2000s. Currently, the perch fishery is at record low harvest levels. Growth rates of adult yellow perch have increased which reinforces a low abundance. When fewer adult fish are present there is more food available and the fish grow faster. Annual trawl surveys show an explosion of juvenile yellow perch since the decline of alewives, however, adult yellow perch numbers continue to decline. Reproduction of yellow perch is excellent but survival from age 0 to age 1 is poor because of heavy predation from walleyes, drum, cormorants and other predators.

From 1989 to 2004 walleye ate mostly gizzard shad and alewife but from 2004 to present the walleye diet switched mainly to juvenile yellow perch, gizzard shad and some goby. When the alewife were present they provided a predation buffer and much fewer yellow perch were consumed by walleyes. Today there are few larger forage fish available for predators to eat so yellow perch standout and are eaten in large numbers by walleye and other predators.

Possible management options for increasing yellow perch abundance were reviewed. The first options discussed were stocking yellow perch, implementing a perch closed season, reducing the perch bag limit and establishing a perch maximum size limit. All these options have the potential of improving reproduction of yellow perch but since yellow perch reproduction has been excellent for over 10 years these options were ruled out as having minimal impact on improving yellow perch fishing in the Bay.

Committee Questions and Comments:

Question: Is juvenile yellow perch survival limited by the lack zooplankton? No, young perch survival is not due to starvation.
Question: In regards to increasing the prey base, why stock cisco and not just more yellow perch? Cisco are an attractive native forage fish that coexisted with walleye and yellow perch.

Historically all three species were present in large numbers in the Bay and it appears that cisco provided a predation buffer between the juvenile yellow perch and the walleye. In other words, the walleye had another abundant food source besides yellow perch.
Question: Is there hatchery space available to rear enough cisco to make introduction into Saginaw Bay a success? The State is not raising cisco but the Jordan River Federal Fish Hatchery is making changes that will enable cisco to be raised. The goal is to stock these native fish in areas of the Great Lakes where they were historically abundant. Once the fishery is rehabilitated the stocking would cease. The recent projection was that the Jordan River Hatchery would have approximately 750 cisco available for stocking in 2016 which would be a good start to the program.

Comment: Yellow perch predation results from walleye, cormorants, and additional species, however, walleye are something that can be controlled resulting in additional walleye fishing opportunity.

Question: Would increasing the walleye bag limit be enough to reduce walleye predation on perch? The number of anglers available to take advantage of an increased bag limit may not be sufficient. Angler numbers are good during the winter, spring river fishery and the early season boat fishery, but fewer anglers are available during the summer. If walleye harvest rule changes are made, the fishery would continue to be monitored annually and if adjustments are needed other regulation changes would be implemented.

Walleye Presentation:
The Department had goals, strategies, and criteria in place to recognize when the stocking of walleye was no longer needed and when recovery of the fishery was achieved. These criteria proved valuable and walleye stocking was discontinued in 2006. Since 2003, walleye wild reproduction and survival has been very good and angler catch rates have been excellent since 2006. Although there has been a drop in open water fishing pressure, the fishing quality is excellent. Fishing pressure in Saginaw Bay has been decreasing but it is suspected that as the fishing improved the amount of time needed to catch a limit of walleye has been reduced significantly so the angler hours spent fishing on the water have also decreased.

Walleye growth rates are slowing which indicates food is becoming less available. The Saginaw Bay trawl survey results for forage fish have been trending down since the early 1970s and currently the forage base is at a record low level. This continuous decrease of forage fish correlates with a steady increase of walleyes and other predators in the Bay. A healthy stable fish population normally requires about 10 to 20 times more forage food by weight than the predators that eat the food. Currently, the surveys are showing that there is actually more walleyes than forage fish in the Bay. This is very concerning and not sustainable.

Detailed analysis of the data shows that overall mortality of the walleye is relatively low and the estimate indicates that 50% more walleye can be safely harvested. Harvesting more walleye would help stabilize the forage fish population and allow better growth rates for walleye along with possibly providing better 2
survival of yellow perch to adult stage. The following are management options that may assist in accomplishing this:

1. Raise the walleye daily bag limit somewhere from 6-10

Pros:
? Consistent with successful approach used for walleye management on Lake Erie
Cons:
? Likely won’t be enough as fishing effort is low

2. Remove closed seasons in the Saginaw River
Pros:
Greatly increases walleye fishing opportunity
Post spawn walleye have the highest catch rate
Harvest is spread across both migrating and resident fish

Cons:
Could create an enforcement problem in some places

3. Lower the walleye minimum length limit to 13 or 14 inches
Pros:
Should be effective
Help promote better growth at the younger life stages when walleye growth rates are the most reduced
Cons:
Will result in harvest of immature fish
May promote social issues

To reduce risks while implementing any of the regulation changes above, monitoring of the fishery must continue annually and the regulations must be reviewed each year and changed if needed. This type of system works well on Lake Erie with the walleye fishing regulations subject to change annually. The regulations are posted at the beginning of the season on the web and are available by a phone call instead of being posted in the Fishing Guide. This adaptive management approach allows for more effective rule changes while closely monitoring any changes in the fishery.

Doing nothing also poses risks including continued loss of the forage fish prey base, continued depression of the yellow perch fishery, further lowering the growth rates of walleyes and reducing walleye fishing opportunities.

Is there interest in implementing walleye regulation rule changes?
Committee Questions and Comments:

Question: Would a lowered walleye size limit of 13 or 14 inches on Saginaw River be effective? The river is full of 2 and 3 year old fish and anglers often catch 25 or more these younger walleye and go home with no legal size fish being caught. Reducing the minimum size limit could be effective but it was suggested that expanding the bag limit should be adjusted first to see if that change will have an impact. The concern was that few anglers would want to keep fish that small.

Question: Would a bag limit change apply to Saginaw Bay or to all of Lake Huron? It is best to have the regulation apply to all of Lake Huron to reduce Law Enforcement problems. This issue will be discussed more at the next meeting.

Comment: If walleye regulation changes are implemented, the fishery will be monitored closely and adjustments can be made annually if needed so it makes sense to implement changes and move forward otherwise nothing will change for the better.

Adaptive management is an effective tool and we should use it!
Comment: Opening the Saginaw River for walleye harvest the entire year could cause enforcement problems and this option will be discussed further.

Comment: Jim Johnson provided his recommendation. He stated that significant changes need to be made otherwise it will be very difficult to measure any impacts. He suggested a need to open the season the entire year in the Saginaw River, reduce the walleye minimum size limit to 13 inches and create a lake wide 10 fish bag limit.

Comment: Over all there was good support for increasing the walleye bag limit and implementing a monitoring and rule change system similar to that being used on Lake Erie. There was much interest in continuing this discussion on the potential walleye regulation changes at the next meeting and the DNR managers will present more specific recommendations at the Monday April 13, 2015 Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee meeting.
The results of the 2 year cormorant diet study conducted in Saginaw Bay (Robin DeBruyne, USGS Great Lakes Science Center):
With the yellow perch decline and more predators in the Saginaw Bay, there has been much concern about the predation from walleyes, however, there are other predators including cormorants eating yellow perch. The nesting grounds for cormorants within Saginaw Bay are Little Charity Island and Spoils Island. Since the mid 1990’s there has been an increase in nesting pairs within the bay. To better understand the impact that cormorants are having on yellow perch in the Bay and to determine the need for managing the birds, a two year cormorant diet study was conducted in the Bay and it was concluded this fall. The following is a summary of the results.

• There are around 2,000 pairs of cormorants in Saginaw Bay. Most nest on Little Charity Island but there are some on Spoils Island

• Cormorants can impact yellow perch and walleye by eating the juvenile yellow perch and walleye or eating the food of these species (or others).

• A total of 303 cormorants were sampled in 2013 and 388 in 2014. Birds were sampled on both Charity and Spoils Islands.

• In 2013 on Little Charity Island, the stomach samples taken contained high amounts by weight of yellow perch in April with a lesser spike in August. Yellow perch were found during the other months but in much smaller amounts. High numbers of goby were present in stomachs during May, June, July with smaller amounts in August and September. Significant amounts of walleye were present in the stomachs in May and September. The cormorant diets were the most varied in August and September with other species appearing in the stomachs throughout the entire sampling period including emerald shiners, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, pumpkinseed, white perch, white sucker and others.

• In 2013 on Spoils Island, the cormorant stomach samples taken contained a more diverse diet and were dominated with fresh water drum in April, white perch in May, walleye in June, and goby in July, August and September. Yellow perch were present in the stomachs during each month but the amounts were relatively small.

• In 2014 on Little Charity Island, the cormorant stomach samples taken contained by weight about 1/3 yellow perch in early May but by the end of May few yellow perch were present. The cormorants were not sampled in April this year. Lesser amounts of yellow perch were present in August with few present in June and July. Shiners were more common this year and were a large part of the diet in May and August. Goby were present in the stomachs each month sampled with large amounts appearing in June and July. Walleyes were eaten occasionally during May, June and late August. Other species that were eaten less often were white bass, drum and pumpkinseed.

• In 2014 on Spoils Island, the cormorant stomach samples taken contained fewer yellow perch and shiners than were present in stomachs from Little Charity Island taken during the same period. Good numbers of goby were taken May through August and walleye were present in the stomachs during June and July with a smaller amount in the stomachs during May. Freshwater drum were common in the samples during May and gizzard shad were common during September. Some white bass were present during May and June.

• Results, it is estimated that cormorants consumed 362,610 pounds of yellow perch in Saginaw Bay based on the data from the 2013 Diet Study while the estimate is 128,215 pounds of yellow perch consumed by cormorants based on the 2014 Diet Study data. As a comparison, a bioenergetics study conducted during 2011 estimated that walleye in Saginaw Bay consumed 498,424 pounds of yellow perch.
The above information will be used over the next couple of months to decide if a management control program will be implemented in Saginaw Bay. An update on a work plan for this season will be provided at the April 13, 2015 Lake Huron Citizens Fishery Advisory Committee meeting.

Overview of cormorant management in Michigan (Peter Butchko, USDA Michigan Wildlife Services):
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services provides professional guidance in resolving wildlife conflicts to protect agriculture, property, natural resources, safety and human health from damage or threats posed by wildlife. Since 2004, USDA Wildlife Services in Michigan has partnered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and several Tribes to manage cormorants at many sites. The authority for controlling cormorants is a Public Resources Depredation Order (PRDO) issued by US Fish and Wildlife Service. The PRDO has a 5 year sunset provision and was renewed in 2013.

The Order allows for use of agents and volunteers and only certain management methods may be utilized. Since 2004, five nesting colonies in Michigan have been managed with the following results:
Site Management Started % Reduction % Goal
Les Cheneaux 2004 81 89
Ludington 2007 94 100
Thunder Bay 2006 84 87
Beaver Island 2007 72 74
Bays de Noc 2006 53 68
Besides managing cormorants at nesting sites, the birds are also harassed at 10 Northern Michigan locations where the birds have concentrated in large numbers and feed on fish populations. Specific harassment techniques are used and occasionally some birds are harvested. At certain fish stocking sites cormorants are very numerous and they can consume large numbers of newly planted fish. At nine locations in Northern Michigan and at one location in the Southern Lower Peninsula the birds are monitored and if necessary harassment methods are used to reduce losses of stocked fish.

The results of the 2014 Lake Huron deepwater demersal forage fish survey (Ed Roseman USGS Great Lakes Science Center):
The forage survey was conducted from 12 October through 3 November 2014 and all the standard ports were sampled. The results are below:

• Alewife: Both the Juvenile and adult alewife remain rare.

• Rainbow Smelt: Age 0 smelt abundance was down from last year but was higher than during 2010 and 2012. The Age 1 and older smelt abundance was a little below 2013 and remains at a near record low level.

• Bloater: Age 0 bloater abundance was down from 2014 but is still at high levels. Age 1 and older bloater abundance was up from last year and remains high.

• Slimy and Deepwater Sculpin: The abundance of both species remains at extremely low levels.

• Ninespine Stickleback: Stickleback abundance remains near or at a record low level.

• Trout-perch: The abundance of trout-perch is near a record low level.

• Round Goby: The results indicate that goby abundance declined significantly from the previous two years, however, care must be made when interpreting the data since the trawl used is not effective at capturing goby.

Overall the forage fish biomass remains low and is dominated by bloaters.

Brief update on attempting to reestablish cisco as a prey alternate to yellow perch (Todd Grischke, DNR Fisheries Division Lake Huron Basin Coordinator):

A cisco rehabilitation strategy was developed for Lake Huron in 2007. The Lake Huron Technical Committee composed of biologists and managers from Michigan and Ontario has reenergized that initiative. Fisheries Division is currently reviewing those recommendations, which will go to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission Council of Lake Committees in March. By April, the DNR Fisheries Division will have recommendations on whether to proceed with rehabilitating cisco in Lake Huron.

An update on the protocol used to determine the salmon bag limit in each of the Great Lakes (Randall Claramunt, DNR Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station):

Several protocols have been used in Lake Michigan to assist in making Chinook salmon management decisions. Originally the Red Flags Analysis was used to identify problems in the fishery that might justify immediate attention. A large number of biological indicators were monitored which gauged population sizes and conditions of Chinook salmon and alewives, their primary prey. The biological indicators included such items as angler success, number of salmon returning to the weirs, Age 1 Chinook abundance, egg thiamine levels along with several other parameters.

From 2004 through 2006 the Red Flag Analysis worked well but in 2007 through 2010 the results were mostly contrary to expectations so another method has been developed called the Predator-Prey Ratio Analysis. The management agencies representing Lake Michigan have generally accepted and endorsed the Predator-Prey Ratio Analysis as the primary method to evaluate salmon populations and their prey in

Lake Michigan. The Predator-Prey ratio is the total lake-wide biomass (pounds) of Chinook salmon age 1 and older to total lake-wide biomass of alewives age 1 and older. For a healthy food web where the predators have enough to eat, the ideal would be to have about 20 pounds of alewife for every pound of Chinook salmon. If the number of alewife approaches only 10 pounds or less for each pound of Chinook salmon, then the ecosystem is no longer balanced and the amount of salmon needs to be reduced by implementing less stocking or higher harvest rates. On the other hand, if there are significantly more than 20 pounds of alewife for each pound of Chinook salmon then higher stocking rates and the lower harvest rates of salmon are recommended.

In the past, the 3/5 salmon bag limit on all the Great Lakes in Michigan has been determined annually by using an estimate of the percent of charter anglers catching 3 Chinook salmon per day and the catch rate (fish/hour) of Chinook salmon caught by all anglers. Only Lake Michigan data were used. If both of these parameters fell below a target level then there would be a 3 bag limit on all the Great Lakes in Michigan. If at least one of the parameters was above the target level then there would be a 5 bag limit. It appears that this system will no longer be used to determine the annual salmon bag limit. There is interest in using the Predator-Prey Ratio Analysis to determine the salmon bag limit each year but only in Lake Michigan. The food webs in Lake Huron and Lake Superior are much different than the food web in Lake Michigan. In addition, the Predator-Prey Ratio Analysis depends on a significant alewife population being present but alewife are rare in both Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

To summarize, the Predator-Prey Ratio Analysis will be used to determine stocking policies and a 3/5 salmon bag limit only in Lake Michigan. The salmon bag limit will remain at 5 in Lakes Huron and Superior unless biological data obtained from each of the lakes show a change is needed.

An overview of the 2020 Great Lakes Consent Decree. Preparations for negotiating the new Decree have started and efforts are being made to engage constituents early in the process (David Caroffino, DNR Tribal Coordination Unit).
The Great Lakes Consent Decree is an agreement between five Tribes, the State of Michigan and the Federal Government, and expires in 2020. The Decree governs allocation, management, and regulation of State and Tribal fisheries in the 1836 Treaty waters and ensures that the fishery resource will be protected and available for future generations to share.

The Modeling Subcommittee and the Technical Fisheries Committee established by the Decree consist of representatives from the five Tribes, the State and US. These committees analyze the data and annually determine State and Tribal total allowable harvest rates for all the zones in the 1836 Treaty waters of the Great Lakes. There is a free exchange of information between all the parties, and joint biological and law enforcement efforts have been established.

At least annually, the Executive Council, which consists of the chairpersons from the 5 Tribes, the Director of the MDNR and the Secretary of the Interior or their duly authorized representatives, meets to discuss concerns impacting both the current Inland and Great Lakes Decrees. The Executive Council can amend the Decrees but only if all 7 parties agree unanimously to the changes.
Efforts have continued during the entire length of the Decree to occasionally make adjustments. Current issues that the parties are discussing include:

• Developing a more effective real time harvest reporting system. 7

• Assessments in Lake Michigan are occurring south of the 45th parallel testing the feasibility of utilizing legged gill nets. Tests in other areas have shown that legged gill nets, which are suspended 3 feet above the bottom, can catch fewer lake trout while still catching an acceptable number of lake whitefish.

• There is interest in developing a small mesh gill net fishery in Northern Lake Huron to harvest cisco.

• There is interest in developing a commercial purse seine fishing operation in Big Bay de Noc.
Since it is likely that the negotiations for the new Decree will likely begin within a year or two, Fisheries Division is beginning to prepare. Letters have been sent to stakeholders, organizations, staff, commercial fishers and others asking for comments on the Decree suggesting what aspects worked well and what areas need improvement.

The deadline to gather information is March 15, 2015. Please submit comments/concerns to Dave Caroffino, 231-547-2914 Ext 232, or by email at [email protected].
Committee Questions and Comments:

Question: Does the 2000 Great Lakes Decree pertain to only Michigan? Yes, the Decree covers the 1836 Treaty waters extending north from Grand Haven in Lake Michigan north to Bays de Noc then east into Lake Huron to Alpena and the eastern half of Lake Superior.

Question: Does this Decree pertain to the Great Lakes only? Yes, Inland hunting, fishing and gathering are covered under the 2007 Decree which does not have an expiration date.

Question: Will there be five agreements, or one agreement that covers all five tribes? It is anticipated that one agreement will covers all five tribes.

Discussion of the 2015 Sea Grant Lake Huron spring workshops (Brandon Schroeder, Michigan Sea Grant):
Possible meeting locations that were proposed included Ubly, Oscoda, Cedarville and Bay City. After a discussion it was decided that since much emphasis is being placed on Saginaw Bay this year that instead of holding a workshop in Ubly, Bay City would be more centrally located. The locations and meeting dates agreed to a few days later are:

• April 23 - Oscoda (Camp Inn Lodge)

• April 28 - Cedarville (Les Cheneaux Sportsman’s Club)

• April 30 - Bay City (KC Hall, downtown Bay City)
Potential agenda topics were discussed.

• Bay City –Walleye regulation changes, yellow perch management options, cisco rehabilitation, cormorant management and the reef study.

• Oscoda – Progress report on Atlantic salmon, steelhead net pen study results, potential walleye regulation changes and the top/down predator prey study. 8

• Cedarville – Cormorant update, lake trout/splake regulation change, top/down predator prey study.
It was agreed that asking the workshop participants questions with TurningPoint software was a good idea if the question periods were short. Questions concerning the walleye regulation changes would be useful.

Law Enforcement and Fisheries Division Manager Updates:
Larry Desloover, Law Enforcement Division – There is another recruit school currently in session and there are 43 recruits attending. There is a case in State court regarding the Consent Decree. Fish in Saginaw Bay are scattered but an unbelievable number of anglers are fishing in the Saginaw River.

Todd Grischke, Lake Huron Basin Coordinator – Fish Division’s Annual Report was distributed by Frank Krist. Todd Kalish, Lake Michigan Basin Coordinator, accepted a new position in Minnesota. The Division will be looking to fill this position.

Ed Eisch, Fish Production Manager – Atlantic salmon are doing well. The maintenance crew made alterations to reduce dissolved nitrogen levels in the raceway water supply. Roger Greil discovered at Lake Superior State University Aquatics Laboratory that high levels of nitrogen in the water supply reduced Atlantic salmon survival. An effort was made to increase the water temperature so the fish will be larger this year than last year. The goal for next spring is to communicate with the Atlantic salmon stocking locations and attempt to stock the fish when the water temperature at the stocking sites are near 50 degrees which appears to be more favorable to survival. January 1st marked 60 months of continued compliance at the Platte River Hatchery with effluent management.

Todd Wills, Lake Huron and Lake Erie Research Station Manager – Todd is the new manager of the two Great Lake stations. This position covers the St. Clair River/Lake, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and the Hunt Creek Research Station. Todd will continue to work from the St. Clair office. The new research vessel for Lake Huron, the R/V Tanner, has been put out to bid. (Contract for construction was awarded post-meeting, with an anticipated delivery date of April 2016).

Ed Roseman, USGS Great Lakes Science Center – The old research vessel the R/V Grayling, which was stationed in Cheboygan, was replaced last fall with the newly built 77-foot R/V Arcticus. The vessel’s primary field sampling capabilities will include bottom trawling, plankton and benthic invertebrate sampling, hydroacoustics, gill netting and collection of environmental data. The Arcticus will offer greater research capabilities, increased fuel efficiency, improved health and safety features and lower maintenance costs than its predecessor.

Gary Whelan, Research Section Manager – Research Section will be releasing the results of projects in concise easy to read documents. This will enable the non-scientists to understand the work that is being done to better manage the various fisheries in Michigan. The Aquatic Habitat Grant applications are being reviewed and final decisions on awarding the funds will be released in April.

Dave Borgeson, Northern Lake Huron Unit Supervisor – The crew has been aging fish, repairing equipment, analyzing information, preparing for the Black Lake sturgeon season and writing prescriptions. 2014 was a very productive year.
9

Donna Wesander, Charter Boat Creel Data Coordinator – Several Charter Boat Captains have not been complying with the creel reporting requirements and measures are being implemented with the Law Enforcement Division to investigate the non-reporters.
Jim Baker, Southern Lake Huron Unit Supervisor – Their activities are similar to the work being conducted in the Northern Lake Huron Management Unit. Biologists are writing reports, prescriptions, and aging fish. November creel in Lexington has been completed. Not one– Atlantic salmon was documented being caught at Lexington Harbor.

Adjourned
2:55 pm

Other scheduled meeting dates for 2015
Monday April 13, 2015
Monday June 22, 2015
Wednesday October 7, 2015

Edited by walleye express 3/6/2015 8:12 AM

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