Future of Lake Whitefish and Lake Trout Populations in The Great Lakes

Transcription

1 Future of Lake Whitefish and Lake Trout Populations in The Great Lakes Mark P. Ebener Inter-Tribal Fisheries and Assessment Program Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority

2 Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

3 Geographic Range North America

4 Why Care about Whitefish & Lake Trout Because they taste good!!!!!!!!!!! Pan-Fried Whitefish Grilled Lake Trout

5 Presentation Outline 1.Population Status 2.Habitat Issues 3.Species Interactions 4.Allocation Issues

6 Topic Not Covered but Important Asian Carp Climate Change Contaminates Dreissenids & Cladophora

7 Population Status

8 Millions of kilograms Whitefish Commercial Yield Great Lakes ,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 Ontario Erie St. Clair Huron Michigan Superior 4,000 2, Year

9 Millions of pounds Commercial Harvest Lake Trout Great Lakes, Superior Michigan Huron Ontario Erie

10 1836 Treaty Ceded Waters

11 Statistical Catch at Age Analysis Jim Bence Mike Jones Bill Taylor Travis Brenden SCAA blender Jim

12 Millions of fish Whitefish Abundance 1836 Waters Millions of Age-4 and older Michigan Huron Superior

13 Definition of Recruitment: Addition of new fish to the vulnerable population by growth from among smaller size categories

14 Millions of fish Whitefish Recruitment 1836 Waters Millions of Age-4 fish Michigan Huron Superior

15 Millions of fish age-4+ Lake Trout Abundance 1836 Waters Millions of Age-4 and Older Michigan Huron Superior

16 Millions of fish Lake Trout Recruitment 1836 Waters Millions of Age-4 fish Michigan Huron Superior

17 100,000d kilograms Lake Trout Spawning Biomass Lake Huron Main Basin 1984 to Stocked Wild

18 Age-7 CPE/R Relative Survival Stocked Lake Trout Lake Huron year classes Measure of sea lamprey & fishing mortality Measure of Post-stocking survival

19 Protocol for Reducing Lake Trout Stocking Lake Huron 1) Relative survival of stocked yearlings cease when falls below specific level for 3-5 yr 2) Recruitment of wild fish 10 age classes at stable or increased abundance 3) Abundance of adult fish should be at or greater than levels

20 Habitat Issues

21 Lake Trout Spawning Grounds

22 Larval Whitefish Habitat

23 St. Louis Estuary Menominee River Dog River Whitefish River Historic & Present-day Tributaries with Whitefish & Trout Spawning Montreal River St. Marys River Extirpated Present Muskegon River Detroit River Maumee River

24 Dip-netting Whitefish in the Rapids Sault Ste. Marie, circa 1901

25 St. Marys River Rapids 2014

26 Whitefish Seine Fishery Detroit River 1800s to 1920

27 Livingston Cut Construction Detroit River 1910

28 Restoration Lake Whitefish Detroit River (Roseman et al. (2012) Advances in Limnology 63)

29 Species Interactions

30 Ice Conditions on the Great Lakes

31 5-yr Avg Sea Lamprey Abundance Great Lakes (GLFC website)

32 Mark per fish Marks per Fish MH-1 Northern Lake Huron All data Fall only

33 Number stocked Lake Trout Stocking MH-1 Lake Huron 700, , , , , , , (blank) Superior Seneca Ontario Lewis Lake Lake Ontario Jenny Lake Clearwater Year

34 Sea Sea lamprey mortality Lamprey Mortality Age 5+ & Proportion Seneca Northern Huron R² R² = Proportion Seneca stocked

35 Cisco (Coregonus artedi)

36 Salting and Packing Cisco

37 Millions of kilograms Cisco Commercial Yields Ontario Erie Huron Michigan Superior Year

38

39 Chesson's alpha Lake Trout Prey Selection Through Time in Lake Superior Rainbow smelt Coregonids Sculpin Stickleback Salmonids Burbot Error Bars 95% CI 2005

40 Association of Tagged Lake Trout to Cisco Schools Lake Openongo, Dunlap et al. (2010) TAFS 139

41 Cisco Abundance Western Arm 2006 Oct MIL Nov MIL

42 Lake Whitefish Winter Diet Stockwell et al. (2012) Gill net, trap net, or angling samples (one date/month)

43 Cisco Eggs vs Macro-invertebrates Prey Availability Biomass Energy 35% 18% kj/g wet:

44 % Lipid Whitefish Percent Lipid Data Cisco Eggs Mysis Diporeia LWF Muscle LWF Liver 0 Nov Dec Jan Mar Apr May

45 Conclusions from Stockwell et al. Cisco eggs significant % of available benthic prey in nearshore areas during winter Important prey source for lake whitefish 79% of energy consumed over winter 35% of energy consumed on annual basis Historic coupling replaced by non-native species throughout the Great Lakes? Additional benefits to cisco rehabilitation

46 Allocation Issues

47 1836 Treaty-Ceded Waters In State of Michigan Negotiated Settlements Tribes/State/Feds ? Allocate fishery resources Establish joint management Set harvest guidelines

48 Commercial Trap Net Fishing Oscoda, Lake Huron

49 Ice Fishing for Whitefish Southern Green Bay, Lake Michigan

50 The Future 1. Reduce levels of whitefish harvests Lake Huron 2. Increased contributions of tributaries to whitefish 3. Continued rehabilitation of tributary habitat 4. Reductions in lake trout stocking Lake Huron 5. Promote recovery of cisco lower lakes

51 Quantitative Fishery Center MSU Dr. Jim Bence Dr. Travis Brenden Dr. Mike Jones

52 The End

53 Millions of pounds Commercial Yields MH Lake trout Whitefish

54

55 Marks per 100 fish Species-Specific Sea Lamprey Marking MH Cisco Whitefish Lake trout

56 Percent of lamprey Lamprey Host Selection Lake Superior (Johnson & Anderson 1980) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Other Sucker Burbot Cisco Herring Whitefish 0% < Sea lamprey length (mm) Lake trout

57 Fish Health

58

59 VHS - Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia -

60 Omega-3 FA in Whitefish Muscle 25 Big Bay Naubinway Cheboygan Detour Females TIME_CODE TIME_CODE TIME_CODE TIME_CODE 25 Big Bay Naubinway Cheboygan Detour Males TIME_CODE TIME_CODE TIME_CODE TIME_CODE Fall 2003 Spring 2005 Fall 2003 Spring 2005

61 Swimbladder Nematode Cystidicola farionis

62 Consumption (kt) Estimated Consumption of Prey Fish Main Basin Lake Huron Chinook Salmon Lake Trout Whitefish