Accelerated walleye program
Produced by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fisheries
Q. Is the DNR carrying through on the legislative mandate to increase walleye stocking?
A. Yes. Due mainly to weather conditions, we have not been able to boost walleye stocking as quickly as we had hoped. But we have made plenty of headway over the past two years and remain committed to increasing walleye stocking in lakes where it will improve walleye populations and fishing.
Q. What’s the background of this issue?
A. In the 1990s, in an effort to stock more efficiently, we scaled back on our walleye fingerling stocking. These reductions convinced some anglers that walleye populations in Minnesota’s stocked lakes were declining.
Though, on average, walleye populations in stocked lakes have actually been increasing, walleye numbers did drop on some lakes, raising public concern.
In 1999, using additional funding from the state legislature, we began an Accelerated Walleye Program.
Q. What has the DNR accomplished since then?
A. Over the past two years, we have carried out the program to:
– increase acreage for natural ponds used to produce fingerlings by roughly 5,000 acres.
– increase by 23 percent (88,000 lbs. in 1999 to 108,500 lbs in 2000) the pounds of fingerlings we produced from state rearing ponds, despite poor rearing conditions caused by mild winters.
– increase walleye fingerling stocking quotas on 90 lakes
– increase walleye population abundance goals on 58 lakes
solicit public input on 141 lake management plans.
– Buy walleyes from private industry to supplement state production.
Q. What’s the main thrust of the program?
A. The main thrust is to add more walleye fingerlings on lakes where stocking will have the best chance of improving fishing. We are committed to finding lakes that will benefit from increased stocking and boosting stocking there.
Q. How will the DNR know if lakes are benefiting from increased stocking?
A. Years of evaluations and research have proven that increased stocking won’t improve fishing on every lake. That’s why a main component of the accelerated program is stocking evaluation.
Fisheries managers will continue to review historical lake survey information and meet with local anglers to determine which lakes have the best potential to produce more walleyes. And fisheries managers will evaluate the how well increased stocking works on those lakes to see if it’s worth continuing to stock at higher levels.
Q.Are fisheries managers in the field committed to the program?
A. Yes. All are moving ahead, though managers who have more suitable lakes for stocking in their area will stock more walleyes than managers who have fewer suitable lakes.