When it comes to walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs, Minnesota's would-be anglers are left without answers to some important ecological questions.
Once the DNR agreed to a treaty-management system requiring annual population estimates, they were faced with the immense problem of how to make meaningful estimates using the data they had available. So they devised a complex computer model, called the VPA (Virtual Population Analysis) that would generate the number they needed to satisfy their responsibility to the Court. But even the biologists who devised the VPA have little confidence in its ability to generate an accurate population estimate. The problem is, every piece of information fed into the VPA has a wide margin of error, most of which cannot be accurately measured. So the combined error is unknown, and so is the usefulness of the VPA. The DNR continues to “tune” its model in an attempt to improve its accuracy, but the underlying problem of insufficient or unreliable data cannot be solved anytime soon. .But in spite of the DNR’s upbeat evaluation, which is based on time-proven assessment methods, the agency has elected to impose deep harvest cuts based on the inaccurate information generated from an untested computer model. The kind of severe restrictions now in effect on Mille Lacs would normally be found only in a fishery that is in serious trouble. Under the tight constraints of treaty management, the DNR’s main concern is keeping walleye harvest within the quota. But in doing so, it is ignoring the issue of population imbalance, which poses a far more significant threat to the fishery than a quota infraction. If the DNR cannot regain the management flexibility it needs to restore the predator-prey balance, the walleye population may collapse and require years to rebuild. Unless there is a dramatic increase in fishing pressure or a deterioration of environmental conditions, Mille Lacs Lake should be able to produce walleyes at the pre-treaty level for years to come. Therefore, the DNR should submit a new management plan to the Court that enables them to increase the total walleye harvest to historic levels, which will not only help restore population balance, but also improve the health of the Mille Lacs sportfishing economy. ...Dick Sternberg
The MN DNR says they have 3 different methods confirm low walleye population
They say, "While it is true that anglers have been catching a lot of walleye and the hot bite should continue, it's also true that three different scientific population measurements indicate the walleye population has declined by about 50 percent during the past 20 years." (Which everybody that has been fishing this last couple of years knows is wrong.)
They go on to say, "While this fact may at first seem to be counter-intuitive, good catch rates can occur when fish populations are down or declining. Scientific studies have documented this." (Yeah? REALLY? WHERE? When did they study this and why don't they state the source of this? Where is the documentation they SAY they have? More fake news.................)
Then, they say, "This situation also can occur when fewer anglers go fishing. These fewer anglers have less competition and therefore tend to be more successful because they are catching biters that would have been caught by others." (This just goes to show that 12 years in an expensive college doesn't necessarily make you SMART.) THE FISH ARE ALL BEING RELEASED, Geniuses!
Here's another one......"Good fishing also can happen when the fish population is in decline due to low prey fish populations. In Mille Lacs, the perch population is lower than average. So despite a reduced walleye population, that bite is good because prey numbers are down, making angler's minnows, leeches and lures more likely to get hit." (This would be a good argument for opening the season up to harvest of some of these predator fish that need to be thinned out to make an even balance of fish-to-forage, like the "Blue Chip Panel of Experts" that you hired to help you clean up this mess "Treaty Management" has made out of Mille Lacs told you two YEARS ago.)
Finally, they spouted, "The result for Mille Lacs? Low food and low pressure have resulted in phenomenal walleye catch rates."
WHICH PROVES BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THEY ARE TOTALLY INCOMPETENT AND SHOULD NEVER BE ENTRUSTED WITH MANAGING ONE OF THE BEST FISHERIES ON THE PLANET EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
