Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study
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Report to Congress Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study Report U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service Department of Interior Prepared by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Lakes Coordination Office Great Lakes Fishery Resources Offices Dale P. Burkett - Overall Study Manager/Report Editor Wolf-Dieter N Busch - Lake Ontario & Lake Erie Study Manager Ferry R. McClain - Lake Huron Study Manager Mark E. Holey - Lake Michigan Study Manager Thomas R. Busiahn - Lake Superior Study Manager May C. Fabrizio - Fish Community Dynamics Researcher, National Biological Service, Great Lakes Science Center Acknowledgements The Service gratefully acknowledges our Bad River Tribal Council, Bay Mills Indian, Community of Michi- gan, Chippewa-Ottawa Treaty Fishery Management Authority, Grand Portage Reservation, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Sault Ste . Marie Band of Chippewa Indians, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Great Lakes National Program Office, U .S. National Biological Service-Great Lakes Science Center, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources partners for assistance in contributing information to and reviewing drafts of this document and for their many helpful comments and suggestions. Without the tireless, selfless, and dedicated efforts of Service staff in the Great Lakes Coordination Office and the Lower Great Lakes, Alpena, Green Bay, and Ashland Fishery-Resources Offices, this report could not have been completed. United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Washington, D .C. 20240 IN REPLY REFER TO, FWSIMA SEP 13 1995 The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr. President of the Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. President: We are pleased to submit the Great Lakes Fishery Resources Study that was undertaken pursuant to Section 2005(a) of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, P.L. 101-537. This report focuses on the status of fishery resources and habitat in the Great Lakes Basin including the effectiveness of present management plans, and analysis of the impacts and management control alternatives for recently introduced nonindigenous species . Recommenda- tions have been developed regarding those actions necessary to restore the fishery resources of the Great Lakes Basin to sustainable levels . Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or comments . Sincerely, ' Director Enclosure United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Washington, D .C. 20240 I N REPLY REFER TO . FWS/MA SEP t 3 1995 The Honorable Newt Gingrich Speaker of the House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Mr. Speaker: We are pleased to submit the Great Lakes Fishery Resources Study that was undertaken pursuant to Section 2005(a) of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, P .L. 101-537. This report focuses on the status of fishery resources and habitat in the Great Lakes Basin including the effectiveness of present management plans, and analysis of the impacts and management control alternatives for recently introduced nonindigenous species . Recommenda- tions have been developed regarding those actions necessary to restore the fishery resources of the Great Lakes Basin to sustainable levels . Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or comments . Sincerely, . Director Enclosure Contents; Table of Contents awnLakeOntarti Trophic Guild Analyses 31 Executive Summary vi Trophic guild definitions .. 31 Limitations to using commercial data 32 Findings and Recommendations viii Historic and Current Status of Fishery ntroduction Resource and Trends 32 Offshore fish community 32 1 Purpose of the Document Nearshore/tributary fish community 47 Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Causes of Changes in Lake Ontario Fishery Restoration Act 1 Resources and Management Strategies 56 Historic perspective 1 Physical factors 56 Background information 1 Chemical factors 59 Purposes of the Act 2 Biological factors 59 Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study 3 Study objectives 3 Historic and Current Status of Fishery Development of proposals 4 Resource and Trends 69 Offshore fish community 69 Great Lakes Basin Description 5 Nearshore/tributary fish community 76 Great Lakes climate 5 Physiographics, hydrographics, Causes of Changes in Lake Erie Fishery and trophic state 5 Resources and Management Strategies 90 Socioeconomics 15 Physical factors 90 Chemical factors 91 Ecosystem Approach 4.6 Biological factors 93 Ecosystem Health Concepts 20 Support for the Ecosystem Approach 21 Historic and Current Status of Fishery Resource and Trends 100 Setting Ecosystem Goals and Objectives 22 Offshore fish community 102 Nearshore fish community 110 Lake Ontario : An Ecosystem Approach Nearshore fish community-warmwater Case Example 22 bays 112 Habitat classification methodology 23 27 Lake Ontario tributary habitats Causes of Changes in Lake Huron Fishery Resources and Management Strategies 113 Causes of changes in Lake Huron fishery resources 113 Management strategies in Lake Huron 113 ii inA, i a fWaluatom of istiing° Maag `mment Plans .'' it' .'.s;imp?* eA/~`?.. Historic and Current Status of Fishery Resource and Trends 115 Interagency Fishery Management Plans 148 Offshore fish community 116 Fish management planning 148 Nearshore fish community 120 Coordinated fishery management 149 Causes of Changes in Lake Michigan Fishery Ecosystem Partnership Coordination 150 Resources and Management Strategies 122 Causes of changes in Lake Michigan fishery resources 122 Management strategies in Lake Michigan 124 Philosophical, Ethical, and Decision-making Considerations 151 Lack of historic knowledge and expertise 151 Changing ethos 151 Historic and Current Status of Fishery Decision-making and public Resource and Trends 125 expectations 152 Offshore fish community 125 Inshore fish community 128 Effects of Impediments to Ecosystem Nearshore fish community 129 Restoration 153 Tributary fish community 131 Examples of Impediments Restoring a Causes of Changes in Lake Superior Fishery Healthy Ecosystem 153 Resources and Management Strategies 131 Causes of changes in Lake Superior 157 fishery resources 131 Management strategies in Lake Superior 172 135 Basin wide Researcl oa Fish PopulattnDynaic~ ~ ► Citica Evaluation of Histor OtData Restoration Ecology of Lake Trout 139 Dynamics of Great Lakes Forage-fish Communities 141 Community Dynamics of Commercially-harvested Fishes 145 111 Contents List of Figures Figure 1 . Appropriations and authorized funding levels for the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 . vii Figure 2 . Map illustrating the Great Lakes watershed. 5 Figure 3 . Map illustrating the four basins of Lake Ontario . 5 Figure 4. Map illustrating the three basins of Lake Erie . 8 Figure 4a . Lake Huron contours . 9 Figure 5 . Lake Michigan contours . 11 Figure 6 . Lake Superior contours. 12 Figure 7 . Conceptual representation of the degradation of an ecosystem and the recovery due to restoration initiatives . 22 Figure 8 . Dichotomous Key scores by stress category for Lake Ontario. 26 Figure 9 . Total riverine habitat(km) in five U .S. Lake Ontario tributaries impacted by the construction of dams . 28 Figure 10 . Percent composition of habitat available to fishes in five U .S. Lake Ontario tributaries up to the first impassible barrier . 29 Figure 11 . Free-flowing riverine habitat (km) available to migrating fishes in five Lake Ontario tributaries . 30 Figure 12 . Offshore trophic fish communities (guilds) for Lake Ontario . 34 Figure 13 . Trends in the Lake Ontario offshore planktivorous guild, as represented by commercial harvest records . 34 Figure 14 . Annual commercial harvest of rainbow smelt from Lake Ontario . 35 Figure 15 . Changes in total phosphorous and zooplankton production in Lake Ontario . 36 Figure 16 . Biomass index of alewife and smelt in Lake Ontario . 36 Figure 17 . Trawl indices of abundance for the largest alewife and smelt in Lake Ontario . 36 Figure 18. Trends in the Lake Ontario offshore macroinvertivorous guild . 37 Figure 19. Commercial catch of Lake Ontario lake whitefish . 38 Figure 20 . Standard gillnet indices of abundance for lake whitefish in Lake Ontario . 39 Figure 21 . Trends in the Lake Ontario offshore indigenous piscivorous guild . 40 Figure 22 . Annual commercial harvest of blue pike and walleye from Lake Ontario . 42 Figure 23 . Millions of indigenous and nonindigenous piscivorous fish stocked annually in Lake Ontario . 43 Figure 24 . Trends in the Lake Ontario nearshoreltributary trophic fish communities (guilds) for Lake Ontario . 48 Figure 25 . Trend of the Lake Ontario nearshoreltributary, omnivorous guild . 49 Figure 26 . Abundance index of omnivorous fishes in Lake Ontario tributaries. 49 Figure 27 . Abundance index of gizzard shad and golden shiner. 50 Figure 28 . Abundance index of macroinvertivorous fishes in Lake Ontario tributaries . 51 Figure 29 . Trend in U.S .Lake Ontario tributary, macroinvertivorous guild . 51 Figure 30 . Trends in the Lake Ontario