Freshwater Science: Using Genetics to Manage Lake Erie Walleye Fisheries
Walleye is an important Lake Erie species, supporting both commercial and recreational fisheries. Management agencies need ways to identify how local spawning populations contribute to the lake-wide fish population, so they can continue to keep Lake Erie’s walleye fisheries naturally reproducing and sustainable.
Dr. Stuart Ludsin at The Ohio State University has developed a genetic tool that can differentiate between walleye from the eastern versus western basins of Lake Erie and successfully helped agencies to better understand the contributions of different spawning locations to the eastern basin’s commercial and recreational fisheries.