Brian Borkholder, Fond du Lac Band Biologist On 2013 Mille Lacs Limits
Channel: JP Rennquist
Date: 2013-03-22

WGZS Radio's JP Rennquist talks to Brian Borkholder, a biologist who works with Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on measuring and helping to manage fish populations on ceded territory.  In 2013, the MN DNR reduced walleye harvests down to just two fish per day for non-natives on Mille Lacs lake, one of the states most popular trophy fishing destinations.  Native American tribal bag limits have also been reduced.  The reason?  Scientists from tribal governments and the MN DNR are recording drops in the walleye population on Mille Lacs lake.  The drops could simple anomalies in the measurement process because of changes in water clarity due to invasive species, they could be the result of a drop in the number of cisco or tullibee fish available as food for predators, or they could be the result of over harvest by humans.  Is climate change to blame?  Are invasive species wreaking havoc on the natural order in Minnesota's lakes? Or are people simply taking too many fish out of the water?  None of these are questions have simple answers.  

Includes file photographs from 2012 netting on Mille Lacs lake by Pamela Belgarde.