Lake Erie Daily Creel Limit for Walleyes is Six beginning May 1

The daily creel limit for walleyes in Michigan’s waters of Lake Erie will be six beginning May 1, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.

Michigan has adopted a process for setting regulations that allows the DNR to use real-time population data instead of using year-old survey results. This process parallels one adopted by Ohio last year.

“This change to the regulations process is critical to helping us manage walleyes in Lake Erie in a timely manner,” said DNR Lake Erie Basin Coordinator Liz Hay-Chmielewski. “In order to do that, we have to set regulations in March instead of the previous autumn.”

Michigan’s daily creel limit for walleyes on Lake Erie is based on its share of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the lake, which is determined by the Lake Erie Committee under the aegis of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The TAC is generally based on overall abundance of walleyes; the Committee establishes quotas for each jurisdiction based on the percentage of habitat for adult walleyes in each jurisdiction’s waters of the lake. The daily limit is based on a formula that projects how many walleyes anglers can keep but still remain within the quota.

See the table below for an explanation of the formula used to set the daily creel limit.

The Total Allowable Catch for Lake Erie for 2011 is 2.919 million fish, making Michigan’s quota 0.17 million fish.

The new regulations process means that the creel limit for walleyes on Lake Erie will not be set until TACs are determined each March, after the Michigan Fishing Guide goes to press. Anglers will need to check for changes annually.

There are no changes to either the fishing season or size limit for walleyes on Lake Erie.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Table
If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is greater than 108,364,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be six (6).

If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is 96,958 to 108,364,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be five (5)

If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is 85,551 to 96,957,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be four (4)

If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is 74,144 to 85,550,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be three (3)

If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is 62,737 to– 74,143,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be two (2)

If Michigan’s share of the annual TAC is less than 62,737,
then the daily possession limit for walleye shall be one (1).