Just Show Me Da Perch!

[Lee Borgersen]

                  WI DNR will look into perch problem

The WI DNR will hold a public meeting Oct. 23 in Milwaukee to discuss Lake Michigan yellow perch issues and identify potential management options. Offshore, Lake Michigan is in the same compromised condition. But on land — and perhaps in a harbor near you in the not-too-distant future — change

Offshore, Lake Michigan is in the same compromised condition.

But on land — and perhaps in a harbor near you in the not-too-distant future — change is in the offing.

 The Lake Michigan yellow perch population crashed over the last two decades!

Most fisheries experts link the perch decline to changes in the food web brought by invasive zebra and quagga mussels.

Efforts to protect the lake's adult perch — including a ban on commercial fishing instituted in 1996 and a drastic cut in the sport bag limit — have failed to spur a recovery of the valuable species.

The perch decline has been well documented by fisheries scientists. But for two decades state and federal resource agencies have basically thrown their hands up and said: "There's nothing we can do."

After a Lake Michigan yellow perch summit in Chicago in March yielded no new initiative I wrote: "Never has a fishery of such great importance been afforded so little imagination or commitment by fisheries managers."

In the weeks after the conference, anglers, business owners and elected representatives began to weigh in on the lack of effort on behalf of the lake's perch.

One agency — the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources — responded.

The DNR will hold a public meeting Oct. 23 in Milwaukee to discuss Lake Michigan yellow perch issues and identify potential management options.

The meeting signals a new willingness on the part of the DNR to engage the public and consider proactive management of the perch population. Such strategies could include stocking and habitat improvement, said Ron Bruch, DNR fisheries director.

"This meeting is a first step," Bruch said. "We have some ideas of what could be feasible, but nothing can happen without hearing from the people and or getting support from the public."

According to the DNR, the meeting will focus on potential management strategies for the important near-shore perch fishery.

It will feature a panel of speakers and presentations, including from the DNR, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

You'll also be presented an opportunity to heckle the local outdoors scribe. I'll be giving a presentation on the historical significance of the lake's perch fishery.

In a statement released Tuesday, the DNR said the meeting aims to bring attendees up to speed on the latest scientific findings and solicit feedback on viable strategic options.

Bruch said it isn't realistic to think perch can be returned to historical levels of abundance in the main lake. But it's possible something can be done in harbors, river mouths and estuaries where productivity is higher.

"We have to look at options to produce near-shore fisheries," Bruch said. "That's where our opportunity is greatest. It's also where the people are. That's a perfect combination."

Bruch and his fisheries staff are mindful of the importance of a shore fishery in urban areas.

Perch were once the backbone of the Lake Michigan pier and shore fishery. But the perch harvest in Lake Michigan (excluding Green Bay) has been on a downward trend since 1993.

In 2013 Lake Michigan sport anglers kept a record low 8,830 perch in Wisconsin waters.

For comparison, the sport harvest was 67,660 perch in 2006 and 886,000 in 1992.

And try this on for size: The 2013 catch rate of chinook salmon (0.05 fish per angling hour) in Lake Michigan was 10 times greater than perch (0.005).

It's not natural for panfish to be so scarce.

"There's kids out there that have never seen a perch," said Bob DeAngelis, owner of Harborside Bait and Tackle in Kenosha. "If we had perch back, it's the perfect opportunity to take a kid fishing; you don't even need a car."

So what could be done?

It's possible eggs and milt could be taken from Lake Michigan perch and raised in hatcheries or aquaculture facilities. Once the perch are big enough to survive on available food, they could be stocked in local waters.

John Janssen, a professor with UW-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences, and Fred Binkowski, a senior scientist at the school, will discuss where bottlenecks in perch reproduction are occurring and whether perch sourced from wild broodstock and raised through cutting-edge aquaculture techniques could potentially rebuild near-shore populations.

"Invasive species have compromised perch reproduction by reducing food availability for young perch, but there is hope that juveniles may be able to switch to alternative food sources in near-shore areas, such as native midges, invasive bloody red shrimp and round goby fry," Janssen said.

Bruch said habitat improvement projects could also be considered.

"What we're trying to accomplish by this meeting is get everyone interested in perch to talk and figure out where this could go," Bruch said. "I want this to be an interactive dialogue, not just the DNR saying this is what will happen."

Following a model of other conservation groups, it's possible a Perch For Tomorrow will form and work in partnership with the department.

If a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, a new perch strategy starts with a single meeting.

Restoring perch isn't a small task. And nothing has been accomplished. But this much is clear: No other agency in the region has taken the initiative to open such a dialogue. For that, the DNR deserves credit.

And if you have any interest in improving the plight of the lake's perch you need to come to the meeting. The meeting is scheduled from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 23 at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, 600 E. Greenfield Ave..