Active Management of Walleye Fisheries in Alberta: Dilemmas of Managing Recovering Fisheries

Abstract

Managers of the recreational fishery for walleyes Sander vitreus (formerly Stizostedion vitreum) in Alberta, Canada, face an unusual combination of very low productivity (related to the northern climate) and high fishing pressure. Passive management of the large recreational fishery and active management of the smaller commercial fishery failed to prevent declines and collapses of walleye stocks. During the 1990s, extensive consultations with the public resulted in the development of an active recreational fishery management system using set points to classify stocks. Catch and release and large, highly restrictive length limits were used to regulate the harvest. These restrictions on the recreational harvest resulted in a dramatic increase in the catch rates of growth-overfished stocks. Paradoxically, this recovery has created dilemmas and controversies in both the recreational and commercial fisheries. Anglers are now dissatisfied with the low harvest rates and absence of large fish attending the high catch rates of small fish. The total allowable catch, however, is being taken by hooking mortality and illegal harvest of undersize walleyes in the recreational harvest. In commercial gill-net fisheries for lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis, increasing bycatch of walleyes restricts the harvest of lake whitefish and has created uneconomical fisheries. Resolving these dilemmas will require dramatic changes to fisheries management techniques in Alberta.