Statement of Scope
Department of Natural Resources
Relating to: | NR 25, Establishing a Lake Michigan lake trout commercial harvest and associated regulations and NR 20, lake trout harvest, bag limits, and season |
1. Finding/nature of emergency (Emergency Rule only):
This will be a permanent rule.
2. Detailed description of the objective of the proposed rule:
This rule will primarily seek to establish a commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan as part of Lake Whitefish fishing. Topics which may be addressed as part of this rulemaking include but are not limited to: lake trout management zones; locations where harvest may or may not occur, such as restricted fishing areas and refuges; season dates; size limits; total allowable catch (TAC) of lake trout; allocations of the TAC between the commercial and recreational fisheries; allocation of the TAC between individual commercial fishers; tagging requirements; reporting requirements; and potential lake trout tag transfers. This rule may additionally update lake trout sport fishery regulations, as needed, including individual bag limits, and sport fishing seasons. The rule may include a sunset date. Additionally, rule changes that are reasonably related to those discussed in this scope statement may be included.
Lake Michigan lake trout Total Allowable Catch and harvest regulations
Lake trout are a critical component of a diverse Lake Michigan fishery, and have been the focus of significant, cooperative rehabilitation efforts since the 1950s, when lake trout neared the point of extinction.
Commercial fishing for lake trout in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan dates back to at least the late 1880s, with stable harvest from 1915-1945. After 1945, lake trout populations collapsed due to the invasion of sea lamprey and overfishing. This led to a substantial decline in sport and commercial harvest. No commercial lake trout fisheries have existed in Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan since the 1960s. A sport fishery currently exists, with past and current limitations to reduce mortality on lake trout, including a total allowable catch, individual bag limits, season closures, and area restrictions.
Establishing a self-sustaining population of lake trout has been identified as a priority for Lake Michigan on a lake-wide scale. Lake trout rehabilitation is ongoing and achieved through cooperation and collaboration of numerous federal, state and tribal governments and academic entities organized through the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Wisconsin is a signatory to the Joint Strategic Plan and actively participates in multi-jurisdictional collaboratives.
The three main activities actively being implemented in Lake Michigan for lake trout rehabilitation are sea lamprey control, lake trout stocking, and control of lake trout mortality. Through rehabilitation efforts, the lake trout populations have begun to recover, with some successful, albeit limited, natural reproduction occurring in portions of Wisconsin waters. The Lake Trout Working Group, operating under the direction of the Lake Michigan Technical Committee, coordinates lake-wide surveys to monitor the status of lake trout populations and utilizes various data inputs in the recently completed Lake Michigan Lake Trout statistical catch-at-age (SCAA) model (e.g., WI345 model is specific to Wisconsin waters) to manage current lake trout populations. The TAC for the sport fishery is currently generated under this new model framework.
Despite these efforts, data demonstrates many lake-wide lake trout rehabilitation goals remain unmet. Some areas of the lake are farther along in restoring lake trout than others, and the limited natural reproduction that is occurring is insufficient for lake trout to be self-sustaining.
The Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board has requested that a portion of the TAC be allocated for the commercial fishing industry. When developing specific rules and regulations for a possible new lake trout commercial fishery (e.g., item 3 below), it will be important to consider many factors including commercial fishers, sport fishers, and ongoing efforts for lake trout rehabilitation.
Currently, the total allowable catch, as calculated through the lake trout SCAA model, is 48,443 lake trout. From 2019-2023, the annual sport harvest of lake trout averaged 32,252 fish. During this time period, the highest annual harvest was 40,145 lake trout in 2021, and the lowest annual harvest was 23,067 lake trout in 2022. In addition, from 2019-2023 an average of 86% of lake trout harvested came from Kenosha to Sheboygan. The current sport lake trout regulation is open all year with an aggregate bag limit of 5 in total across all species of trout and salmon and a minimum length limit of 10 inches except that no fishing for lake trout is allowed in the Mid Lake Reef Complex.
A targeted commercial harvest has the potential for greater impact to the fishery than a bycatch fishery due to higher potential catch and catch rates. In contrast to Lake Michigan, Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior (WI-2) is home to a self-sustaining, naturally reproducing lake trout population. While commercial harvest of lake trout is permitted on Lake Superior, fish may only be retained as bycatch to the lake whitefish fishery. Lake whitefish, and lake trout are found in similar habitats. To protect the more vulnerable lake trout, effort controls, seasons, protected areas, catch and size limits are used to manage the fishery and have contributed to the long-term sustainability of the Lake Superior lake trout population.
3. Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives:
This rulemaking will establish a new commercial bycatch fishery for lake trout in Lake Michigan, in which lake trout bycatch that is incidental to the commercial harvest of lake whitefish may be sold and retained in certain circumstances. Currently, the commercial harvest of lake trout is prohibited, such that sufficient regulations to implement this fishery are not in place. The establishment of a new fishery involves many components, which may be included in this rulemaking.
This rule may establish lake trout management zones and clarify the locations where commercial harvest of lake trout may or may not occur, such as through restricted fishing areas or refuges. As currently established, the Clay Banks area will remain a restricted area for commercial fishing and the Mid-Lake Reef Complex, which is currently established as a refuge closed to sport harvest of lake trout, will also be closed to commercial harvest of lake trout.
This rule may establish size limits for commercially harvested lake trout. This rule will establish that lake trout in the “Do Not Eat” category of the Department’s Choose Wisely publication would not be allowed for commercial harvest. Currently, lake trout larger than 29 inches fall into this category (2024).
This rule may establish a lake trout total allowable catch (TAC). Alternatively, the rule may establish the manner by which the TAC is determined and the frequency of such determinations. This rule may also establish a minimum TAC that would be required in order for commercial harvest to be permitted.
This rule may allocate the lake trout TAC between the commercial and sport fisheries and may establish a mechanism for making adjustments to this ratio in the future. The proposed allocation of the TAC will be no more than 20% for the commercial fishery.
This rule may establish the manner in which the commercial TAC is allocated between any lake trout management zones and the allocation to the commercial fishery is further subdivided between individual licenses.
This rule will specify that individual allotments of lake trout will be made through the issuance of Department tags. Current s. 25.022, Stats., Wis. Admin. Code requires commercially caught lake trout to be tagged prior to sale or transport.
This rule may establish times of year in which commercial lake trout harvest is not permitted, such as during typical spawning seasons. Like many fish species, lake trout are especially vulnerable during their spawning season because they congregate on spawning reefs.
This rule may establish a mechanism for adjusting sport bag limits or season length in response to a new TAC or exceedance of the TAC.
This rule may limit the commercial harvest of lake trout based on origin of the fish (naturally reproduced or stocked).
