Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Updated 2024-12-11 14:19:53

Lake Huron -> 2.0 Percid (Walleye and Perch) -> Yellow Perch Yield

2.2.1. Annual lakewide harvest (yield) equal to or greater than 0.5 million kg.

Yellow Perch populations, as indicated by lake-wide yield, continues below long term yield averages. Yellow Perch populations were achieving or exceeding yield targets as recently as three decades ago. The poor yield relative to the long-term target is largely driven by the near collapse of Yellow Perch in Saginaw Bay. Historically (1889 – 1990), the yield of Yellow Perch in Saginaw Bay averaged 57% of the lake-wide total yield. Thus, without that source fully producing, the lake-wide yield will never be close to the target. Likely there are other Lake Huron Yellow Perch populations that also are under performing. The collapse of the Saginaw Bay Yellow Perch population is attributed to high mortality between the age-0 (young-of-the-year) life stage (which is very abundant inmost years) and the following age-1 (yearling) life stage. That high mortality rate is in turn attributed to predation by a variety of predators in the bay’s ecosystem but more notably Walleye which are very abundant. The Michigan DNR tried to use liberalized recreational harvest regulations from 2015- 2024 to promote Walleye harvest as a test to see if it would reduce the population and benefit Yellow Perch. Those objectives were not achieved and the Michigan DNR has now abandoned those goals and instead manages for sustainability of the Walleye population (but so far has maintained the liberalized recreational harvest regulations). Historically Saginaw Bay sustained both abundant Walleye and Yellow Perch populations (and fisheries) and the Michigan DNR retains that as a management goal. It is believed that lacking is a predation buffer to help protect Yellow Perch. It is thought that the buffer had been Alewives, recently, and Cisco, historically. Cisco have not recovered in spite of the collapse of Alewives and are now the subject of a reintroductory stocking effort in Saginaw Bay conducted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and coordinated by the Lake Huron Technical Committee. There are several objectives to seeing Cisco recovery in the main basin of Lake Huron but predation buffers for Yellow Perch, specially in Saginaw Bay, is part of the hoped for vision.

Total fishery yield of Yellow Perch in Lake Huron, 1889-2022.