Fishermen help DNR form whitefish plan

HOWARD — At least one commercial fisherman expressed surprise at the civility of people attending a meeting Tuesday about possible changes to whitefish quotas in the bay of Green Bay.

“Everybody was pretty reasonable,” said Charles Henriksen, who operates a commercial fishing operation out of Sister Bay. “(Wednesday's) meeting will be different.”

The whitefish population has been booming in Green Bay but appears to be struggling in the northern portion of the bay and in the waters north of Door County, David Boyarski, eastern district fisheries supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources, said at Tuesday’s meeting. That northern zone remains Lake Michigan’s biggest source of whitefish to commercial fishermen, but they have been falling well below their quotas in recent years, while those in the lower bay have been annually hitting their quota.

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That has led the DNR to consider a quota shift, redistributing it to better reflect where the nets are coming up full and where they’re coming up empty. But a series of public meetings last year persuaded the DNR it probably needs to gather more biological data as well as get more feedback from the people whose livelihoods and recreation depend on the whitefish.

Boyarski said the DNR is unlikely to change the fishing rules anytime soon but is already seeking the data and feedback it will need to make a decision acceptable by both types of fishermen.

The agency hosted a meeting at the DNR Green Bay Service Center in Howard Tuesday toward that end, and it will host a similar meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Door County Government Building, 421 Nebraska St., Sturgeon Bay. Henriksen plans to attend that one as well.

He was one of 17 commercial and sport fishermen attending Tuesday's meeting. Sport fishermen generally worry that rule changes will favor commercial fishermen, deplete stock and ruin what has been a rapid-growing sport fishery, Henriksen said. But he and other commercial fishermen offered reassurances Tuesday that wouldn’t happen.

“There are not enough commercial fishermen left to have a negative effect on sporting,” said Mark Maricque, a commercial perch fisherman who typically sells his whitefish quota to Henriksen.

“We’re not out there to catch the last fish,” he said after the meeting. “It’s not economical. If it doesn’t pay, we won’t fish. I transfer most of my whitefish quota to Charley because he has a better market in place. He pays me not to fish. It’s a business, not a game.”

A possible depletion of whitefish isn’t the only issue of concern. Troy Krause of De Pere, who operates a guide service called Walleye Mafia LLC, is concerned that raising the whitefish quota in the lower bay could jeopardize walleye. Commercial fishermen going after whitefish can’t help netting other fish, too, and their use of gill nets often kills walleye that get hung up in the nets, Krause said.

Otherwise, Krause would favor a quota increase, because mature whitefish will eat walleye eggs if they can, he said.

Increasing the whitefish quota in the lower bay or increasing it for everyone not using gill nets might be options the DNR would consider, Boyarski said.

The commercial whitefish harvest for Lake Michigan and Green Bay is 2.88 million pounds. About 12.5 percent of that, or 362,185 pounds, may be taken from Zone 1 in Green Bay south of Chambers Island. About 75 percent or 2.16 million pounds may be taken from Zone 2 in Chambers Island north around the top of Door County to Kewaunee. The remaining 12.2 percent or 351,487 pounds may be taken in Zone 3 south of Kewaunee.

Fishermen of both stripes agreed Tuesday that any additional biological data the DNR could gather would only help. They expressed concerns that the bay can’t sustain the burgeoning whitefish population, a point underscored by observations that the fish are smaller and lighter than normal and often are being caught with empty stomachs. The bay’s limited food supply and increased competition among whitefish both would account for that, Boyarski said.

The DNR has a variety of monitoring programs in place, but it is hoping anglers and commercial fishermen will help the agency better direct its limited resources to studying the fish population, diet and movement.

Both meetings will be posted on the DNR website at dnr.wi.gov. The DNR also is hoping those attending the meeting and those who missed it will participate in an online survey of their preferences for management strategies. The survey also is available on the website.

psrubas@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter@PGpaulsrubas