Accelerated Walleye Stocking Continues

Minnesota's stocked walleye lakes received a bumper crop thanks to 165,000 pounds of walleye fingerlings and yearlings stocked in the state’s lakes this past fall. The fish will start to reach catchable size in three years, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials said.

The DNR surpassed its 2003 goal of stocking 130,000 pounds of walleye fingerlings and yearlings last fall with a combination of pond-reared fingerlings, those purchased from private vendors and yearlings strained from ponds last spring.

Since the accelerated walleye program was fully funded in 2000, the DNR has stocked an average of about 134,000 pounds of fingerlings each year, including 113,000 pounds in 2000, 161,000 pounds in 2001, 98,000 pounds in 2002 and 165,000 pounds in 2003. The number of fingerlings stocked ranged from 1.2 million in 2002 to 4.4 million in 2001.

Beginning this year, the goal for walleye fingerling stocking will be increased to 160,000 pounds per year as part of the accelerated walleye program. At typical sizes, this would equal about three million fingerlings.

To help reach this goal, the Section of Fisheries will increase the purchase of fingerlings from the private sector from 24,000 pounds to 40,000 pounds per year. Purchase of additional walleye fingerlings will be supported with a $1 million budget increase approved in the 2003 legislative session.

There are about 900 lakes in Minnesota that are stocked with walleye. Though the increased stocking goals may result in some additional lakes being stocked, the DNR will focus on putting more fish in currently stocked lakes.

"I think we can make good use of the additional fish by stocking some lakes at higher rates," said Steve Hirsch, assistant chief of the Section of Fisheries. "This will ultimately strengthen our evaluation of the accelerated walleye program."

While stocking remains an important component of Minnesota's walleye fishery, habitat and water quality play even more important roles, Hirsch said.

"About 86 percent of the walleye harvest comes from naturally reproduced fish,” he said. "That means we have to maintain walleye spawning habitat and good water quality to continue to support walleye fishing in this state."

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