Proposed decision process for walleye stocking topic of comment period until Jan. 31
MADISON - Proposed guidelines for how the state will decide which water bodies get stocked with walleye in 2014 and 2015 under the Wisconsin Walleye Initiativeare now available online and are the subject of a public comment period until Jan. 31.
"Wisconsin means good walleye fishing and it's only going to get better with the walleye initiative," says Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp. "We look forward to public feedback on this important part of helping direct where those fish go."
The Wisconsin Walleye Initiative is a two-year funding package to help produce and stock more of the larger walleye that can survive better in waters where natural reproduction isn't getting the job done. Last year, the first increased funding available under that package enabled DNR to stock more than four times as many of the larger walleye in state waters, according to Steve Avelallemant, longtime DNR supervisor of northern Wisconsin fisheries biologists.
Production is expected to increase more in 2014 and 2015 as a result of initiative funding, but even then, demand for the larger fingerlings is expected to exceed supply, Avelallemant says. The proposed guidelines call for setting up a priority system for stocking waters with public access. The qualifying candidate waters would be divided into four categories based on fisheries management priorities, Avelallemant says.
"The increased funding provided by the Wisconsin Walleye Initiative allows us to significantly increase stocking of the larger extended growth walleye but we think the demand will exceed the supply," he says. "We need to prioritize to make the most effective and efficient use of the fish able to be produced under the initiative."
The proposed guidance can be accessed through DNR's Wisconsin Walleye Initiative web page. Go to dnr.wi.gov and search for "walleye." Find a link to the document and more information on the "stocking" tab.
Comments on the proposed guidance can be sent to Steve Avelallemant atsteven.avelallemant@wisconsin.gov. After the comment period ends, DNR will review the comments, make the necessary revisions, and make available to internal and external audiences.
After the guidance is finalized, DNR will be finalizing the candidate list of waters and placing them in the different priority levels. That list will be available to the public later this winter, Avelallemant says.