2010 Status of the Stocks Report
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Technical Fisheries Committee Administrative Report 2010: Status of Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish Populations in the 1836 Treaty-Ceded Waters of Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan, with Recommended Yield and Effort Levels for 2010 A Report Submitted by the Modeling Subcommittee to the Technical Fisheries Committee D.C. Caroffino (Michigan Department of Natural Resources), S.J. Lenart (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), Editors Recommended Citation formats: Entire report: Modeling Subcommittee, Technical Fisheries Committee. 2011. Technical Fisheries Committee Administrative Report 2010: Status of Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish Populations in the 1836 Treaty-Ceded Waters of Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan, with recommended yield and effort levels for 2010. http://www.michigan.gov/greatlakesconsentdecree Section: Caroffino, D.C. and Lenart, S.J. 2011. Executive Summary in Caroffino, D.C., and Lenart, S.J., eds. Technical Fisheries Committee Administrative Report 2010: Status of Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish Populations in the 1836 Treaty-Ceded Waters of Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan, with recommended yield and effort levels for 2010. http://www.michigan.gov/greatlakesconsentdecree 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary...................................................................................................... 4 Stock Assessment Models........................................................................................... 10 Recommendations and Future Directions to Improve Assessments........................... 20 Status of Lake Trout Populations................................................................................ 26 Lake Superior .............................................................................................................. 26 MI-5 (Marquette - Big Bay)..................................................................................... 26 MI-6 (Au Train - Munising) .................................................................................... 30 MI-7 (Grand Marais)................................................................................................ 34 Lake Huron ................................................................................................................. 36 MH-1 (Northern Lake Huron) ................................................................................. 36 MH-2 (North-central Lake Huron) .......................................................................... 41 Lake Michigan ............................................................................................................ 44 MM-123 (Northern Treaty Waters) ......................................................................... 44 MM-4 (Grand Traverse Bay)................................................................................... 46 MM-5 (Leelanau Peninsula to Arcadia) .................................................................. 48 MM-67 (Southern Treaty Waters) ........................................................................... 50 Status of Lake Whitefish Populations......................................................................... 52 Lake Superior .............................................................................................................. 52 WFS-04 (Marquette - Big Bay) ............................................................................... 52 WFS-05 (Munising)................................................................................................. 56 WFS-06 (Grand Marais) .......................................................................................... 59 WFS-07 (Tahquamenon Bay).................................................................................. 60 WFS-08 (Brimley) ................................................................................................... 64 Lake Huron ................................................................................................................. 68 Northern Huron (WFH-01 to WFH-04)................................................................... 68 WFH-05 (Alpena) .................................................................................................... 73 Lake Michigan ............................................................................................................ 77 WFM-01 (Bays de Noc)........................................................................................... 77 WFM-02 (Manistique)............................................................................................. 81 WFM-03 (Naubinway)............................................................................................. 85 WFM-04 (Beaver Island)......................................................................................... 89 WFM-05 (Grand Traverse Bay)............................................................................... 95 WFM-06 (Leland - Frankfort) ............................................................................... 101 WFM-07 (Ludington) ............................................................................................ 102 WFM-08 (Muskegon) ............................................................................................ 106 Appendix 1. Lake whitefish management units....................................................... 110 Appendix 2. Lake trout management units.............................................................. 111 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Prepared by David C. Caroffino and Stephen J. Lenart In August 2000, Bay Mills Indian 1836 Treaty-ceded waters. The MSC Community, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of developed and fit statistical catch-at-age Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Band (SCAA) models using a nonlinear of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little modeling and statistics program (AD Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Model Builder, Otter Research Ltd.) to Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the estimate age- and year-specific United States of America, and the State population abundance and mortality of Michigan settled upon a negotiated rates. Insufficient data prevented agreement (Consent Decree) to resolve development of reliable SCAA models issues of allocation, management, and in two lake whitefish units, so an regulation of fishing in 1836 Treaty- alternative approach was used for setting ceded waters of lakes Superior, harvest limits. The estimates of Michigan, and Huron (U.S. v. Michigan abundance and mortality were combined 2000). The provisions of the Consent with growth and maturity data for Decree were to be implemented by the whitefish and lake trout in each stock or five tribes of the Chippewa/Ottawa management unit to project Resource Authority (CORA), the United recommended yield levels for the 2010 States Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish fishing season. Recommended yield and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the limits were obtained by either limiting State of Michigan’s Department of mortality to a maximum rate or Natural Resources (MDNR). The achieving a minimum spawning Consent Decree outlines a specific lake potential reduction. The maximum trout management regime that regulates allowable mortality rate (A) on whitefish the fishery though yield and effort limits was 65%, while the maximum mortality established through maximum lake trout rate on lake trout was either 40, 45, or mortality rates. In management units 47%, depending on the management where the state and tribes share the unit. The target spawning potential commercial whitefish harvest, maximum reduction for whitefish was 20%. whitefish mortality rates are regulated Harvest limits were allocated to State with yield limits for each party. The and CORA fisheries for each stock Consent Decree provides specific following the percentages for 2010 guidelines on how these yield and effort specified in the Consent Decree. limits are to be calculated. A Modeling The 2010 MSC recommended Subcommittee (MSC) of the Technical harvest limits for whitefish and lake Fisheries Committee (TFC) was trout are provided in the table below as established and charged with developing are the actual harvest and effort limits the annual yield and effort limits that were imposed based on terms of the required by the Consent Decree. Consent Decree or harvest regulation For 2010, the MSC assessed guidelines (HRGs). This report provides population status and mortality rates of details when recommended and actual 13 different stocks of lake whitefish and harvest limits differ in management nine stocks of lake trout that are within units. Management MSC recommended Actual yield Gill net limit Species Lake unit yield limit (lb) limit (lb) (ft) Lake trout Superior MI-5 86,163 107,902 NA MI-6 118,450 125,780 4.62 million MI-7 82,273 95,190 2.76 million Huron MH-1* 205,913 245,000 7.34 million MH-2 79,829 79,829 NA Michigan MM-1,2,3* 0 503,000 15.62 million MM-4* 80,418 201,218 0.99 million MM-5* 171,643 171,643 0.91 million MM-6,7 396,823 396,823 NA Lake Superior WFS-04 81,000 81,000 NA whitefish WFS-05 423,000 423,000 NA WFS-06 no estimate 210,000 NA WFS-07 685,000 535,000 NA WFS-08 170,000 170,000 NA Huron Northern Combined 2,800,000 NA WFH-01 467,000 NA WFH-02 500,000 NA WFH-03 150,000 NA WFH-04 546,000 NA WFH-05 1,075,000 962,000 NA Michigan WFM-01 3,644,000 3,644,000 WFM-02 792,000 558,000 NA WFM-03 3,400,000 2,820,000 NA WFM-04 768,000 768,000 NA WFM-05 299,000 299,000 NA WFM-06 207,000 207,000 NA WFM-07 no estimate 500,000 NA WFM-08 831,000 831,000 NA *Units with stipulated harvest limits In 2010, the