Movement of Walleyes in Lakes Erie and St. Clair Inferred from Tag Return and Fisheries Data

Abstract

Lake Erie walleyes Sander vitreus support important fisheries and have been managed as one stock, although preliminary tag return and genetic analyses suggest the presence of multiple stocks that migrate among basins within Lake Erie and into other portions of the Great Lakes. We examined temporal and spatial movement and abundance patterns of walleye stocks in the three basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair with the use of tag return and sport and commercial catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) data from 1990 to 2001. Based on summer tag returns, western basin walleyes migrated to the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and to Lake St. Clair and southern Lake Huron, while fish in the central and eastern basins of Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair were primarily caught within the basins where they were tagged. Seasonal changes in sport and commercial effort and CPUE in Lake Erie confirmed the walleye movements suggested by tag return data. Walleyes tagged in the western basin but recaptured in the central or eastern basin of Lake Erie were generally larger (or older) than those recaptured in the western basin of Lake Erie or in Lake St. Clair. Within spawning stocks, female walleyes had wider ranges of movement than males and there was considerable variation in movement direction, minimum distance moved (mean distance between tagging sites and recapture locations), and mean length among individual spawning stocks. Summer temperatures in the western basin often exceeded the optimal temperature (20-238C) for growth of large walleyes, and the

Accuracy and precision of fishery and demographic estimates from a spatial tag-recovery model when inter-regional movements are treated as fixed

“…Using a spatial tag-recovery model and recoveries from a long-term jawtagging study, Vandergoot and Brenden (2014) found that Lake Erie walleyes exhibited age and spatial variability with respect to movement and mortality components. In particular, walleyes in the Lake Erie's western basin were more likely to move to other regions of the lake than eastern basin fish, which was consistent with previous movement studies (Wang et al, 2007;Zhao et al, 2011). Natural mortalities of age-5 and older walleyes were estimated to be lower than those of younger fish in both the lake's western and eastern basins (Vandergoot and Brenden, 2014).…”

“…Spatial structuring in the Lake Erie walleye population has been attributed to several factors, including metapopulation dynamics and regional differences in water quality, trophic structure, and incidence of invasive species (Wang et al, 2007;Berger et al, 2012). In addition to functioning as an apex predator (Ryan et al, 2003), walleye support important commercial and recreational fisheries throughout Lake Erie, with fishing activity mostly concentrated in the western and central basins (Roseman et al, 2011;Zhao et al, 2011).…”

“…Formulations in Eq. (1) assumed that movement occurred immediately after tagging, which was an appropriate assumption for Lake Erie walleye, as tagged fish frequently move considerable distances shortly after tagging (Wang et al, 2007;C.S. Vandergoot, unpublished data).…”

Portfolio theory as a management tool to guide conservation and restoration of multi‐stock fish populations

“…Adult walleye migrate throughout the lake and into Lake Huron during summer and fall, but exhibit spawning site fidelity when returning to the four major spring spawning habitats including; Maumee, Sandusky and Detroit Rivers, and an open lake reef complex (Wang et al 2007; Fig. 1).…”

Accounting for spatial population structure at scales relevant to life history improves stock assessment: The case for Lake Erie walleye Sander vitreus

“…Walleye (Sander vitreus) is a highly vagile species in both riverine and lacustrine environments with dispersal distances exceeding 160 km (Todd and Hass, 1993;Wang et al, 2007). In Lake Erie, longitudinal dispersal of walleye from their primary spawning locations in the western basin appear to be related to size or age (Kershner et al, 1999;Jones et al, 2003;Wang et al, 2007), which could result in differential age composition, and hence age-specific vulnerability patterns, across the lake.…”