Delayed Fertilization of Walleye Eggs As a Method to Prevent the Spread of Zebra Mussels

The spawning of adult Walleye (Sander vitreum) and subsequently the stocking of walleye fry is an important function of fisheries agencies of the United States and Canada.  Due to concerns of transporting water that may contain veligers of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) alternative methods of spawning walleye collected in the field is useful.  Unfertilized egg shipment offers the potential to ship eggs without water.  The objective of this study was to evaluate an alteration of the dry method of fertilization by completely drying adult female walleye and then stripping their eggs into dry containers that could be packaged and shipped for later fertilization and incubation.  The findings indicate that delayed fertilization of Walleye eggs yielded a hatch rate of 76.8% from Clear Lake while the standard methodology on used on eggs collected from Rathbun Reservoir yielded a hatch rate of 78.6%.   The findings of this study indicate there is little loss of fertility due to the short term storage of Walleye eggs before they are fertilized and processed in the normal fashion at the receiving hatchery.