Spatial and temporal segregation of yellow perch in southern Lake Michigan

Abstract

AbstractHistorically, yellow perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill held great recreational and commercial importance to the Lake Michigan fishery. Unfortunately, fluctuations in lake‐wide abundances in the past four decades created inconsistencies in catch. As adults, yellow perch have been commonly observed to swim great distances suggesting there is likely to be partitioning of the population within the lake. The objective was to determine whether population demographics of yellow perch in the Indiana waters of Lake Michigan were consistent with a single population. Seasonal population demographics of yellow perch collected from the Indiana waters of Lake Michigan in 2009, 2011 and 2012 were compared. Catch‐per‐unit‐effort of female yellow perch increased during later sampling periods across years. Similarly, total length of females and males increased 10% throughout the year. The proportion of females increased from 20% at the beginning of the survey period to 95% at the end. A few larval yellow perch were collected. These data suggest that Indiana waters of Lake Michigan are not a primary spawning area, rather these waters serve as a feeding or recovery area for post‐spawned yellow perch, particularly females.