Seasonal movements of muskellunge in the St. Clair – Detroit River System: Implications for multi-jurisdictional fisheries management

Hessenauer, Jan‐Michael; Harris, Cleyo; Marklevitz, Stephen A.C.; Faust, Matthew D.; Thorn, Michael W.; Utrup, Brad E.; Hondorp, Darryl W.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2020.12.006

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…We noted a total mortality rate of 20.6%, a C&R mortality rate of 30%, and control mortality of 11.3% (Table 2). The C&R mortality value is in stark contrast to C&R mortality ranging from 0% to 5% as reported in previous studies, all of which were conducted in the northern range of the Muskellunge's distribution (i.e., Minnesota, Michigan, and Ontario; Strand 1986; Frohnauer et al 2007; Landsman et al 2011; Hessenauer et al 2021). A portion of the C&R fish ( n = 50) in our study were likely to have perished due to natural causes, regardless of being caught.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…A portion of the C&R fish (n = 50) in our study were likely to have perished due to natural causes, regardless of being caught. If we apply the control mortality (11.3%) to our C&R group, then the adjusted C&R mortality would be 18.7%, which is still markedly higher than previous reports (Strand 1986; Frohnauer et 2007; Landsman et al 2011;Hessenauer et al 2021). We expected this because the previous studies were conducted at temperatures less than 25°C, similar to temperatures within the Muskellunge's realized thermal niche (22.3 ± 1.8°C; Cole and Bettoli 2014), and warm water has been demonstrated to increase the stress response up to death in some angled fish (Wilde et al 2000;Arlinghaus et al 2007;Boyd et al 2010;Landsman et al 2011;Gale et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…In a meta‐analysis of C&R mortality studies on Striped Bass Morone saxatilis , Bettinger and Wilde (2013) estimated that 70% of fish caught using live bait and 38% of fish caught using artificial baits died after release during the summer months. Previous work has suggested low mortality (0–5%) for angled and released Muskellunge when artificial lures are utilized (Strand 1986; Frohnauer et al 2007; Landsman et al 2011; Hessenauer et al 2021), whereas mortality is higher (22% in 50 days, 83% in 1 year; Margenau 2007) when single J‐hooks and live bait are used. However, these studies were all conducted in the northern extent of the species' range in near‐optimal water temperatures of 15–26°C (22.3 ± 1.8°C; Cole and Bettoli 2014), with only one fish being caught when water temperature was greater than 25°C (Strand 1986; Frohnauer et al 2007; Margenau 2007; Landsman et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

et al. 2023

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Angling for Muskellunge Esox masquinongy has become widespread and increasingly popular. Management strategies for Muskellunge include high minimum harvest lengths (>1016mm), closed seasons, and catch‐and‐release regulations. Due to these strategies and angler behaviors, up to 97% of Muskellunge caught are released, and anglers assume these fish survive to be caught again in the future. Previous research on catch‐and‐release mortality for Muskellunge has suggested relatively low mortality rates (0%‐5%). However, these studies were all conducted within the range of water temperatures that are thermally optimal for Muskellunge and generally at water temperatures <25°C. Muskellunge populations in some latitudes routinely experience temperatures >25°C during the summer months. Fisheries managers and anglers have expressed concerns regarding warm water angling mortality, representing a need to evaluate mortality rates at various water temperatures and multiple latitudes. Our objective was to quantify warm‐water (>25°C) catch‐and‐release mortality rates in Muskellunge (>760mm) and identify factors influencing mortality using experimental ponds. Adult Muskellunge (n=102) were stocked into eight earthen or plastic lined flow‐through ponds (0.06‐0.71 ha) at densities of <16 fish/ha. Muskellunge (n=50) were angled utilizing specialized Muskellunge fishing gear at water temperatures of 19.6–32.6°C, with 32 fish being caught at temperatures >25°C. Fish were closely monitored for 2 weeks after being angled to assess mortality, and fish that remained uncaught during the experiment were used as controls (n=53). Mortality was greater for angled (30.0%) compared to control fish (11.3%). Differences in catch‐and‐release mortality were compared across a range of temperature regimes using firth's logistic regression. Five‐day cumulative temperature and net time were positively related to the probability of mortality, but size and sex were unrelated to mortality. Elevated catch‐and‐release mortality rates at warm water temperatures warrant investigations into the population level effects at varying levels of exploitation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

et al. 2023

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“…For example, telemetry studies of Lake Sturgeon have revealed that fish tagged in the Detroit River rarely utilize the St. Clair River and vice versa (Kessel et al 2018;Colborne et al 2019). Likewise, Muskellunge Esox masquinongy tagged in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River were rarely observed in the St. Clair River (Hessenauer et al 2021). These spatial differences are also associated with genetic structure in the system for Lake Sturgeon (e.g., Welsh et al 2008) and Muskellunge (e.g., Turnquist et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Investigation of the Endangered Northern Madtom in the North Channel St. Clair River

Utrup

Hessenauer

Briggs

et al. 2023

N American J Fish Manag

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Aquatic organisms and the habitats they live in are declining globally, yet managers often lack even basic biological information for individual imperiled species. This makes assessment of the current status, management needs, and recovery targets for these species challenging. One such organism is the Northern Madtom Noturus stigmosus, a small, bottom-dwelling catfish of the family Ictaluridae. Northern Madtom are listed as endangered in the state of Michigan and the province of Ontario, with only a handful of isolated populations known in each region. To address life history uncertainties and to provide fisheries managers with baseline information to inform decision making, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources annually sampled Northern Madtom in the St. Clair River using minnow traps and amassed the largest known data set for this species. We handled 871 individuals from 2010 to 2022, with yearly catch rates ranging from 0.17 to 1.33 individuals/trap. Age estimates derived from otoliths and dorsal spines of 17 individuals showed no clear pattern of bias, indicating that nonlethally collected dorsal spines provide a suitable age estimation method. We developed an age-length key to assign ages to all individuals in our data set, calculated growth parameters, and determined that annual mortality rates across all ages ranged from 46% to 69%. Diet analysis revealed that caddisfly (order Trichoptera) larvae were the dominant prey item and fecundity averaged 178 eggs/ female. We compared microsatellite allele frequencies and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes among samples collected in the St. Clair River and the Detroit River. Significant evidence of genetic structure was present, indicating limited gene flow and suggesting that separate management of these two populations may be warranted. Collectively, these data provide context for managers interested in the development of biological reference points and planning for the conservation and management of this species.

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“…Our surgical process generally followed the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's standard operating procedures for intracoelomic implantation of acoustic transmitters (Cooke et al 2012); these procedures have been used to tag Walleye and numerous other fishes throughout the Great Lakes (Hayden et al 2014;Binder et al 2017;Dembkowski et al 2021;Hessenauer et al 2021;Withers et al 2021). Walleye were placed ventral side up in a slotted surgery board with rubberized foam padding and were electroimmobilized via a handheld transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit (MAXTENS 1000; Bio ProTech) with power settings capable of producing a variable output of 0-80-mA pulsed DC.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spawning Locations, Movements, and Potential for Stock Mixing of Walleye in Green Bay, Lake Michigan

Izzo

Dembkowski

Hayden

et al. 2023

N American J Fish Manag

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Effective fishery management in large systems relies on understanding how individual stocks contribute to a fishery over spatial and temporal scales. The current conceptual model for management of Walleye Sander vitreus in Green Bay designates Walleye in the northern and southern parts of the bay as distinct stocks, with little mixing between the northern and southern fisheries, and assumes that Walleye in both northern and southern Green Bay primarily spawn in tributaries as opposed to shoreline or offshore reef areas. We used acoustic telemetry to test this conceptual model for Walleye management in Green Bay. Telemetry indicated that the majority of Green Bay Walleye use

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Seasonal movements of muskellunge in the St. Clair – Detroit River System: Implications for multi-jurisdictional fisheries management

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

Evaluating Muskellunge catch‐and‐release mortality at elevated summer water temperature

Biological Investigation of the Endangered Northern Madtom in the North Channel St. Clair River

Spawning Locations, Movements, and Potential for Stock Mixing of Walleye in Green Bay, Lake Michigan

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