Vertical Habitat Use of Walleye Conflicts with Expectations from Gill Net Surveys

Gorman, Ann Marie

Vertical Habitat Use of Walleye Conflicts with Expectations from Gill Net Surveys

Tuesday, August 23, 2016: 11:20 AM

Chicago A (Sheraton at Crown Center)

Ann Marie Gorman , Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Fairport Harbor, OH

Richard Kraus , USGS Great Lakes Science Center, Sandusky, OH

Christopher S. Vandergoot , Division of Wildlife, Sandusky Fisheries Research Station, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sandusky, OH

Carey Knight , Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Fairport Fisheries Research Station, Fairport Harbor, OH

Lee F. G. Gutowsky , Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Matthew Faust , Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sandusky, OH

Yingming Zhao , Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wheatley, ON, Canada

Charles Krueger , Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Todd Hayden , Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, Millersburg, MI

Lake Erie walleye were implanted with pressure-sensing acoustic transmitters in 2013 and 2014 to characterize temporal and geographic patterns in vertical depth habitat use. Our findings indicated that walleye are strongly oriented towards the bottom of the water column throughout most of the year. By comparison, fishery independent gill net surveys captured the majority of walleye near the surface at depths that were not observed to be occupied by tagged fish. This discrepancy is a concern to fishery management agencies, because suspended gill net surveys conducted in Ohio waters are used annually to estimate population abundance and for developing total allowable harvest quotas.