Walleye Commercial Walleye Fishing on Lake Erie

[Bottom Bouncer]

Last time out of Barcelona we saw a commercial fishing boat setting out nets in 80-85 fow right near where we were catching walleyes.  This was deeper and further west from the area marked with orange flags (which I've been told are perch nets). I thought the commercial walleye fishing industry in NY waters was bought out years ago.  Does anybody know about this?  Do they use gill nets or something different?  

[Jimdski]

They use trap nets, not gill nets. Walleyes, Bass and other sport fish are released alive. The fish of the Lake Erie belong to all the people of New York, just not the sport fishing license harvesters. Commercial fishing is a business that supports all the residents of New York and other states. Canadian commercial fishermen export millions of dollars of Lake Erie  fish to the USA  annually. They laugh about the foolishness of USA regulations favoring our hook and line efforts.

 

[Bottom Bouncer]

Thanks.  So what are they targeting?  Perch?

[Jimdski]

Yellow and white perch, silver basss, whitefish, ciscoes, carp, catfish and others. A balanced harvest of all species is needed , Back in the mid 1950's the smelt that were stocked in Michigan, a foreign invader destroyed all the fishing including sport fishing, especially the blue pike, lake trout, whitefish and ciscoe population of the Great Lakes. In the mid 1960's American and Canadian trawlers began harvesting the smelt which were mainly shipped to Asian communities started controls. Also the Pacific Salmon stocking program did the needed control of the smelt and by the mid 1960's the walleye and perch sport fishing returned and the dead Lake Erie started o boom again. The cold water blue pike never returned as the smelt exterminated their reproduction.