Mille Lacs Businesses Brace For Walleye Fishing Suspension
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Department of Natural Resources is closing Mille Lacs Lake for walleye fishing at 10 p.m. on Monday.
Minnesota natural resources officials said Sunday that anglers had exceeded the central Minnesota lake's walleye quota by 2,000 pounds. The department stresses that other fish species like bass, northern and muskies are still plentiful in the lake.
The walleye population at Mille Lacs Lakes has dropped to a 30-year low, leading the state to impose quotas.
Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr says closing the lake is necessary to protect the walleye population.
That dipping population has become a topic of conversation among Minnesota politicians. Gov. Mark Dayton says a special session of the Legislature is necessary to aid area resorts and businesses bracing for a drop in tourism.
"It was a kick in the stomach. We had no idea," Linda Eno of Twin Pines Resort said. "We've spent the last week visiting with the commissioner and the governor and really thought they were listening."
The DNR commissioner said it was either cut short the walleye fishing season or risk further depleting the fish's population.
"It was a set of bad choices, a set of bad alternatives," Commissioner Tom Landwehr said.
Still, local business owners like Eno say they're frustrated.
"I'd like to know who's been asleep at the wheel for the last 18 years to have it come to this drastic point," Eno said. "I'm just trying to hold onto the bookings that I have."
This summer's harvest limit was already the lowest in 30 years at 40,000 pounds, compared to 500,000 pounds in 2012.
"We are committed to restoring the lake for future generations," Landwehr said.
The state says an unexpected series of events in the first half of July contributed to its decision to shorten the season, like unusually high water temps, the Fourth of July rush and a rise in catch and release fish deaths.
"Prior to that period, less than 5 percent of those walleye that were caught and released died," Landwehr said. "In that two-week period at the beginning of July, 25 percent of the walleye caught and released died."
The DNR says its working to figure out how to restore the walleye population to a healthy standard in an ever-changing and sometimes unpredictable lake.
"Talk about the last nail in the coffin," Eno said. "Those that are left have been here 20 years. We may still survive, but there are a lot that won't."
Gov. Dayton announced this week he's working on a possible $20 million aid package for the area. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe said it will stop netting next year in a show of solidarity with the community.
The DNR says it's confident the lake can get back to a "new normal" if they can figure out how to make sure some of the little fish grow into big fish in the lake. Officials say they're working on more surveys of the lake in September, and that new regulations for next year should be set some time in December.
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