Like to catch Walleye, but are concerned about overfishing?
Fear no more! Aquaculture is here to save the day.
Aquaculture is the world’s fastest growing food production industry. Many species are of aquaculture interest, including Walleye (Sander vitreus), Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens), Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and many more. Aquaculture is defined as the raising of aquatic organisms for food. The industry of aquaculture often rears sport fishes—such as the Walleye—for the purposes of stocking them. Once they are stocked, anglers catch them and eat them. Walleyes are now one of the most sought-after sport fishes, and they are found in 32 percent of freshwater ecosystems in North America. The North Central Aquaculture Center previously identified Walleye as one of the most promising aquaculture species.
Great Lakes populations of Walleye have been overfished in the past, resulting in population declines in areas of the Great Lakes. States have implemented strategies to prevent population decline, such as habitat protection as well as walleye rearing and stocking. Rearing and stocking Walleye can help keep the population at a healthy level and keep Walleye in the Great Lakes for many years to come. Walleye can be stocked as juveniles; from there they will continue to grow in the wild until they are of catching size. The U.S Fish and Wildlife service has stated that climate change has begun to affect Walleye habitat distribution. The displacement of Walleye by warm water species may change their range and population. The culturing of Walleye for stocking purposes may help to mitigate this issue.
So how is it done?
Walleye are often bred in aquaculture facilities and kept there until they are of stocking size. They are often fed commercially available foods. Typically, they are kept in large tanks with colder water, in order to best mimic their natural habitat. Tank size will vary based on the aquaculture facility or lab. In Dr. Dabrowski’s lab on the OSU campus, we keep our juvenile Walleye in 400L tanks. Here is a photo showing where they are kept!
References:
https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/freshwater-fish-of-america/walleye.html#:~:text=Great%20Lakes%20walleye%20populations%20have,the%20Great%20Lakes%20drainage%20basin.&text=Recent%20climate%20changes%20may%20be,sunfish%2C%20largemouth%20and%20smallmouth%20bass.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=ncrac_whitepapers
https://www.ncrac.org/files/page/files/Chapter9.pdf