Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife management agencies are the best-equipped authority to make critical decisions surrounding fish and wildlife resources. However, when data changes, or there is a lack of observable data to justify prior decisions, they must be updated to reflect what is best for both the resource and the primary stakeholders (e.g., sportsmen and women) who are impacted by these decisions.
Highlights:
- Originally limiting walleye anglers to only catch-and-release, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) updated its regulations to allow anglers to harvest up to two walleye on Mille Lacs Lake.
- The original catch-and-release limit contributed to a significant decrease in angler participation on Mille Lacs, a storied destination for anglers and an economic driver for the state’s tourism economy.
- Earlier this year, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) joined national and state partners requesting that the agency review its walleye limit, which it has subsequently updated.
In late March, CSF joined with partners to deliver a letter to the Minnesota DNR, requesting that it re-examine its regulations for Mille Lacs Lake, one of the premiere fishing waters of Minnesota. The original DNR decision only allowed anglers in the North Star State to participate in catch-and-release for walleye until mid-August, where anglers could then bag one walleye between 21-23 inches or longer than 28 inches. That was the law of the land for the entirety of this year’s fishing season, which opened May 11, to the detriment of both Minnesota anglers and the tourism industry that they support, with fishing pressure being about a third of what was projected.
Mille Lacs has experienced its fair share of variability of allowed harvest over the years, but restricting fishing opportunity to just catch-and-release without offering data that justified the decision prompted many anglers and stakeholders, including CSF, to question the decision. CSF has a longstanding history of supporting fish and wildlife agency management authority, as these agencies are comprised of experts that are well-equipped to make the complex decisions that are best for the state’s natural resources. However, in cases where decisions are incongruent with the data available, CSF advocates for those decisions to be re-examined and revised, which is exactly what took place with Mille Lacs walleye restriction.
Following an in-season regulation change, beginning August 16, Minnesota anglers may harvest up to two walleye on Mille Lacs through November 30. In its recent press release on the update, the DNR acknowledged that Mille Lacs has an abundance of walleye between 18-20 inches and that with the Mille Lacs catch-and-release regulation, anglers in the state have only harvested 26% of the allowed walleye take. CSF is appreciative of the updated regulation, which allows anglers to participate in our time-honored outdoor traditions while contributing to the local tourism economy as well as the successful management of Minnesota’s storied natural resources.
