Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Updated 2024-11-08 17:00:58

Lake Huron -> 4.0 Channel Catfish -> Channel Catfish Biomass

4.1.1 Channel Catfish Survey Catch Rates and Percent Composition

Canadian Waters - In Georgian Bay, North Channel and the main basin, channel catfish Biomass Per Unit Effort (kg of fish/net/night) and Percentage of Total Biomass were increasing during the current reporting period (OMNR, Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, unpublished data) and were similar to levels observed during the previous reporting period of 2011-2017 (Fielder et al. 2020). Catch results from several survey types (only End of Spring Trap Netting (ESTN) included in this summary) provide similar indications of channel catfish abundance with channel catfish being prominent in both Georgian Bay and the North Channel and in some locations representing a substantial proportion of predator biomass in nearshore habitats in Ontario waters. Again, do we have commercial or recreational harvest information such that we could speak to the yield piece?

Figure 1. Channel catfish catch rates from Early Spring Trap Netting Surveys in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. No survey was conducted in 2006, 2011, 2020, and 2021.

Figure 2. Percent of total catch comprised of channel catfish from Early Spring Trap Netting Surveys in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. No survey was conducted in 2006, 2011, 2020, and 2021.