Lake trout harvest regulations liberalized

Liberalized regulations designed to increase the harvest of lake trout are now in effect on the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan.

The rules, which became active April 15, allow year-round fishing for lakers and a daily bag limit of five fish.

The previous regulations included a closure during the spawning season and a bag of two.

The change is part of a strategy adopted last year by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to appease chinook salmon fishermen and reduce predation on the forage base.

It allowed Wisconsin officials to keep chinook stocking levels while reducing plants of lake trout and brown trout.

The Wisconsin Lakeshore Business Association, which includes charter captains, marina owners and others, lobbied to maintain chinook levels.

The Wisconsin DNR’s action differed from the other three Lake Michigan states, which reduced chinook plants to help ease pressure on alewives.

Recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have showed record or near-record lows of alewife and other prey fish in Lake Michigan.

Chinook are the primary predators of alewife in the lake and are almost entirely dependent on the bait fish. Other trout and salmon feed on alewife but to a lesser extent.

The Wisconsin plan takes into account current lake trout populations, including the reestablishment of natural reproduction in some refuge areas, and is not expected to affect long-term restoration efforts, said Brad Eggold, DNR Great Lakes district fisheries supervisor.

"Based on the comments from our stakeholders, we believe increasing the daily bag limit from two to five lake trout will create welcome new recreational opportunities while also addressing concerns about the ratio of predators to prey in the lake," Eggold said in a statement.

Under the new rules, fishing for lake trout remains closed in the mid-lake refuge.

From 1969-2015, anglers harvested an average of 51,700 lake trout annually in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, according to DNR estimates. The agency has set an annual "safe harvest" of 82,000 lake trout.

The lake trout sport harvest has remained at or below levels considered necessary for recovery of the species since 1998, according to the DNR.

"To ensure the new rule supports long-term restoration goals for lake trout, DNR intends to monitor the harvest throughout the duration of the emergency rule and develop a permanent rule," Eggold said.

The new regulations are part of an emergency rule passed in March by the Natural Resources Board. With two expected extensions, it will last until Dec. 31.

The department intends to seek a permanent rule that would take effect as soon as possible upon expiration of the emergency rule extensions.

The DNR will hold a combined public hearing on the emergency rule and gather additional information for a permanent rule at a public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m. June 22 in the ballroom at UW-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee.

Written comments can be sent to DNRLAKEMICHIGANPLAN@wisconsin.gov or Brad Eggold, Department of Natural Resources, Great Lakes Water Institute, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204.

The deadline for comments is July 7.

Waterfowl guidesindicted: Three Wisconsin waterfowl hunting guides were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for violations of the Lacey Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The men - Tony Toye, 49, of Boscobel, owner and operator of Big River Guide Service LLC in Boscobel; Jeremy Schreiner, 34, of Durand, owner and operator of Addicted River Guiding in Alma; and Matt Raley, 33, Arbor Vitae, owner and operator of Hideaway Hollow Outfitters in Lancaster - allegedly directed clients to continue to kill ducks after the client had killed his daily bag limit.

In each circumstance, the client was in fact an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent.

The hunts took place in 2012 and 2013 in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

The indictments were handed down in the federal government’s Western District court in Madison.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison. The charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Refugee Law Enforcement; and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.