Pigeon Lake Fisheries Management Pigeon Lake Fisheries
Pigeon Lake Fisheries Management Update January 2010
Background In 2001, Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) set up the Pigeon Lake Fisheries Management Advisory Committee to respond to fisheries management issues. The advisory committee consisted of representatives from First Nations, recreational fishers, commercial fishers, the local community and government staff.
The advisory committee considered the public feedback in the final draft of the fisheries management plan which was then submitted to SRD. The following recommendations are being implemented:
Recreational Fishery
The advisory committee developed a fisheries management plan for various species in Pigeon Lake - Lake Whitefish, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch and Burbot.
! The catch limit for Northern Pike will be one fish over
100 cm (previous regulation -- one Northern Pike over 63 cm).
The management plan was finalized in May 2003 and provides an overview of Pigeon Lake and its fisheries, including:
! the current condition of fish populations in the lake; ! fish management issues; ! principles for guiding future management of the ! !
fishery; specific recommendations for managing fish stocks; and fish allocations for First Nations, recreational and commercial fisheries.
! The catch limit for Burbot will be one fish (previous regulation -- three fish).
Commercial Fishery On a test basis, in order to maximize the catch of Lake Whitefish and minimize the by-catch of Walleye and Northern Pike, a three-day winter fishery (two net lifts) is proposed. The following conditions and quotas will apply:
The advisory committee completed a five-year review of the management plan in early 2009. In March 2009, SRD held two public meetings to present the revised management plan and receive feedback through a survey. Forty-five people attended the Nisku meeting and 22 people attended the Wetaskiwin meeting. The survey was also available online on the My Wild Alberta website. A total of 255 surveys were completed.
! Mesh size of not less than 140 mm (5.5"). The old mesh size was 102 mm (4").
! Nets can be pulled and reset only once per day. Nets can only be set and can not be checked on opening day (i.e., no continuous checking or running of the nets).
Quotas:
! ! ! !
Lake Whitefish - 50,000 kg Northern Pike - 1,300 kg Yellow Perch - 500 kg Walleye - 750 kg
The commercial fishery will be closely monitored by Fish and Wildlife Division staff to ensure all conditions are followed and accurate catch data are collected. Since the last commercial fishery in 2000, the number of fishing licences has been reduced from 248 to 32, and gear units (i.e., nets) have been reduced from 520 to 137. This large reduction in both the number of fishers and nets makes the fishery much easier to monitor and manage. Studies done in January 2008 show the Walleye harvest (weight) per net would be reduced by 88 per cent by changing the mesh size from 102 mm to 140 mm. Meanwhile, increasing the mesh size would increase the Lake Whitefish harvest (weight) per net by six per cent.
.
Index netting surveys have been conducted each fall from 2003 to 2009. The following graph shows the average number of Lake Whitefish caught per standardized index net, set in the fall of that year.
We also know that over time, the total biomass (total weight of all the individual fish) of a species in a lake does not change much. So, if the number of big Lake Whitefish has increase, the number of small and medium Lake Whitefish has likely decreased.
Number of Lake Whitefish caught per net 23.9
What is the desired outcome?
25 21.5
The desired outcome is to return Pigeon Lake to the healthy natural fishery that existed many years ago. This requires re-establishing a healthy self-sustaining Walleye population and improving the Northern Pike population.
18.5
20
15
12.4 11.2 10.3
9.6
10
5
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Note: From validation studies for Walleye we know that the number of Walleye caught during the Fall Walleye Index Net (FWIN) sampling is directly correlated to the number or abundance of Walleye in the lake. Similar validation studies have not been conducted for Lake Whitefish catches. Fish catchability varies between species, time of year, net mesh size, water temperature and other factors. So when comparing net catch data it is important that comparisons are made between data collected using the same gear type (i.e., mesh sizes, net length and depth) and at the same time of the year, as is the case for theLake Whitefish data presented here.
The increasing number of Lake Whitefish per net is a positive sign and suggests the population is increasing. However, recreational anglers seem unable to catch these larger Lake Whitefish. Reducing the number of large Lake Whitefish will make room for smaller Lake Whitefish which are generally more likely to be caught by recreational anglers. The following graph shows the increase in length of Lake Whitefish caught during fall sampling; average total length steadily increased from 417mm to 506 mm from 2003 to 2009. During the same time period the average weight of Lake Whitefish more than doubled, (from a mean of 622 g to 1565 g).
Re-establishing Walleye in Pigeon Lake has resulted in continuous changes to the number, size and age structure of different fish species including Lake Whitefish. This is a natural process as the fishery moves toward a more balanced state. So how much longer will this process take? We will continue to see significant changes for at least another decade. Large proportions of the Walleye population still consist of stocked rather than naturally born fish. It will take time for other fish populations to come into balance as well, resulting in a more stable fishery with respect to the numbers, size and age structures. We need to remember natural systems are never static and there will be some fluctuations in year-to-year fish populations. For more information on the Lake Whitefish population in Pigeon Lake, please read "Lake Whitefish in Pigeon Lake A Management Overview". This is available online at: www.srd.alberta.ca. Follow the tabs Managing Programs > Fish Wildlife Management > Fisheries Management > Southeast Regional Fisheries Management
Average Length and Weight of Lake Whitefish 1800
1600
1548
1565
507
506
Mean Total Length (mm) Mean Weight (g)
1400 1221
1279
1200
1000 804
841
800 622 600 417
431
431
468
488
400
Prairies Area - Fisheries Management Update
200
0 2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
January 2010
Background In 2001, Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) set up the Pigeon Lake Fisheries Management Advisory Committee to respond to fisheries management issues. The advisory committee consisted of representatives from First Nations, recreational fishers, commercial fishers, the local community and government staff.
The advisory committee considered the public feedback in the final draft of the fisheries management plan which was then submitted to SRD. The following recommendations are being implemented:
Recreational Fishery
The advisory committee developed a fisheries management plan for various species in Pigeon Lake - Lake Whitefish, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch and Burbot.
! The catch limit for Northern Pike will be one fish over
100 cm (previous regulation -- one Northern Pike over 63 cm).
The management plan was finalized in May 2003 and provides an overview of Pigeon Lake and its fisheries, including:
! the current condition of fish populations in the lake; ! fish management issues; ! principles for guiding future management of the ! !
fishery; specific recommendations for managing fish stocks; and fish allocations for First Nations, recreational and commercial fisheries.
! The catch limit for Burbot will be one fish (previous regulation -- three fish).
Commercial Fishery On a test basis, in order to maximize the catch of Lake Whitefish and minimize the by-catch of Walleye and Northern Pike, a three-day winter fishery (two net lifts) is proposed. The following conditions and quotas will apply:
The advisory committee completed a five-year review of the management plan in early 2009. In March 2009, SRD held two public meetings to present the revised management plan and receive feedback through a survey. Forty-five people attended the Nisku meeting and 22 people attended the Wetaskiwin meeting. The survey was also available online on the My Wild Alberta website. A total of 255 surveys were completed.
! Mesh size of not less than 140 mm (5.5"). The old mesh size was 102 mm (4").
! Nets can be pulled and reset only once per day. Nets can only be set and can not be checked on opening day (i.e., no continuous checking or running of the nets).
Quotas:
! ! ! !
Lake Whitefish - 50,000 kg Northern Pike - 1,300 kg Yellow Perch - 500 kg Walleye - 750 kg
The commercial fishery will be closely monitored by Fish and Wildlife Division staff to ensure all conditions are followed and accurate catch data are collected. Since the last commercial fishery in 2000, the number of fishing licences has been reduced from 248 to 32, and gear units (i.e., nets) have been reduced from 520 to 137. This large reduction in both the number of fishers and nets makes the fishery much easier to monitor and manage. Studies done in January 2008 show the Walleye harvest (weight) per net would be reduced by 88 per cent by changing the mesh size from 102 mm to 140 mm. Meanwhile, increasing the mesh size would increase the Lake Whitefish harvest (weight) per net by six per cent.
.
Index netting surveys have been conducted each fall from 2003 to 2009. The following graph shows the average number of Lake Whitefish caught per standardized index net, set in the fall of that year.
We also know that over time, the total biomass (total weight of all the individual fish) of a species in a lake does not change much. So, if the number of big Lake Whitefish has increase, the number of small and medium Lake Whitefish has likely decreased.
Number of Lake Whitefish caught per net 23.9
What is the desired outcome?
25 21.5
The desired outcome is to return Pigeon Lake to the healthy natural fishery that existed many years ago. This requires re-establishing a healthy self-sustaining Walleye population and improving the Northern Pike population.
18.5
20
15
12.4 11.2 10.3
9.6
10
5
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Note: From validation studies for Walleye we know that the number of Walleye caught during the Fall Walleye Index Net (FWIN) sampling is directly correlated to the number or abundance of Walleye in the lake. Similar validation studies have not been conducted for Lake Whitefish catches. Fish catchability varies between species, time of year, net mesh size, water temperature and other factors. So when comparing net catch data it is important that comparisons are made between data collected using the same gear type (i.e., mesh sizes, net length and depth) and at the same time of the year, as is the case for theLake Whitefish data presented here.
The increasing number of Lake Whitefish per net is a positive sign and suggests the population is increasing. However, recreational anglers seem unable to catch these larger Lake Whitefish. Reducing the number of large Lake Whitefish will make room for smaller Lake Whitefish which are generally more likely to be caught by recreational anglers. The following graph shows the increase in length of Lake Whitefish caught during fall sampling; average total length steadily increased from 417mm to 506 mm from 2003 to 2009. During the same time period the average weight of Lake Whitefish more than doubled, (from a mean of 622 g to 1565 g).
Re-establishing Walleye in Pigeon Lake has resulted in continuous changes to the number, size and age structure of different fish species including Lake Whitefish. This is a natural process as the fishery moves toward a more balanced state. So how much longer will this process take? We will continue to see significant changes for at least another decade. Large proportions of the Walleye population still consist of stocked rather than naturally born fish. It will take time for other fish populations to come into balance as well, resulting in a more stable fishery with respect to the numbers, size and age structures. We need to remember natural systems are never static and there will be some fluctuations in year-to-year fish populations. For more information on the Lake Whitefish population in Pigeon Lake, please read "Lake Whitefish in Pigeon Lake A Management Overview". This is available online at: www.srd.alberta.ca. Follow the tabs Managing Programs > Fish Wildlife Management > Fisheries Management > Southeast Regional Fisheries Management
Average Length and Weight of Lake Whitefish 1800
1600
1548
1565
507
506
Mean Total Length (mm) Mean Weight (g)
1400 1221
1279
1200
1000 804
841
800 622 600 417
431
431
468
488
400
Prairies Area - Fisheries Management Update
200
0 2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
January 2010
