Ice fishing guides to report Green Bay whitefish catches

Green Bay — Beginning in 2017, ice fishing guides will be required to report the number of whitefish they and their clients catch on Green Bay.

The Department of Natural Resources rolled out the new procedure at a meeting Monday night.

The catch reporting is part of an administrative rule that has been on the books since 1999 but not previously enforced.

It’s being implemented now to gather additional data on the whitefish population, a valuable commercial and sport fish that has emerged as one of the bay’s “good news” stories of the last decade.

“We now have spawning runs of whitefish in Green Bay tributaries where they weren’t present for 100 years,” said Scott Hansen, DNR fisheries biologist. “This is a phenomenal success story.”

The whitefish population has supported a commercial fishery for many years in the Wisconsin waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan, where commercial netters hold an annual quota of 2.88 million pounds, including about 260,000 pounds in southern Green Bay.

And in recent years, the native fish has spurred a vibrant sport fishery, mostly through the ice.

The sport harvest of whitefish was just 1,559 fish in 2007 but topped 115,000 in each of the last four winters, according to DNR estimates.

“(Guides) are catching and handling a lot of whitefish,” Hansen said. “This report will help us get more data than just the tags.”

Hansen showed an example of the form and discussed the process. About 45 people attended the meeting, including guides, anglers and commercial fishermen.

The report has columns to record the number of whitefish, yellow perch and walleye caught as well as released. It also asks for number of anglers, number of hours spent fishing, other fish species caught and information on any tagged fish.

The reporting process is scheduled to begin Jan. 1. Guides are asked to submit a monthly report for January, February and March.

Bret Alexander of Green Bay, who runs Ice Fish Green Bay guide service, was at Monday’s meeting and said he supported the new reporting requirement.

“I think it will be good for the fishery,” said Alexander, 46. “It will help keep an eye on everything.”

Alexander, who grew up fishing the bay and has worked as a guide for the last 14 years, said the whitefish fishery is now a star attraction to the area in winter.

In the first few months of 2016, Alexander had 1,500 clients come to Green Bay for the hard-water fishery.

“Half of my anglers last year came from out of state,” Alexander said. “That brings business to hotels, restaurants, gas stations and others in the area. So it’s very important to keep the fishery strong.”

Based on his observations in recent years, the whitefish population is in very good shape, Alexander said.

In order to assess the area’s whitefish population, the DNR is conducting a tagging study to learn more about the spawning habits and distribution of the fish.

In addition, researchers at UW-Stevens Point plan to implant about 300 whitefish with acoustic tags to study their movements. And researchers at UW-Green Bay are conducting a study to identify the origin of whitefish caught in Green Bay.

The guide reports will augment data gathered in a DNR creel survey.

In addition to spawning in the Fox, Oconto, Peshtigo and Menominee rivers, some whitefish are believed to reproduce in Green Bay itself as well as Bay de Noc in Michigan, Hansen said.

“We’re trying to get the best picture possible of where these fish are coming from and where they are caught,” Hansen said. “The stock complexity appears to have increased and there’s an awful lot to learn as we work to keep this vibrant fishery and its associated economic benefits going strong.”

Green Bay ice-breaking: To allow shipments of fuel, the U.S. Coast Guard will maintain tracks through the ice of Green Bay this winter. The main channel will run down the center of the bay from approximately Rock Island to Green Bay, with spurs also cut to Marinette and to Sturgeon Bay.

Safety officials with the DNR, Coast Guard and local law enforcement agencies urge ice anglers, snowmobilers, ATV riders and others to be aware of the ice conditions on the bay, especially after the tracks have been opened.

A 72-hour advance notice will be provided before each ice-breaking. The message will be sent on channels 16, 21 and 23 of VHF-FM marine radio, via the Coast Guard’s twitter account (@USCGGreatLakes) and the Facebook page of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.