Native burbot deserves to be reclassified as game fish
One of these things is very much not like the others: common carp, Asian carp, sea lamprey and burbot.
The answer is obvious to most anglers and conservationists but merits explanation.
Even more importantly, it calls for change. More on that later.
First the differences. The three at the front of the list are destructive aliens often called aquatic invasive species, or AIS.
They have wreaked havoc on ecosystems since they were deliberately (as with the carps) or unintentionally (lamprey) introduced to North American waters.
The last one is a native fish found in the Great Lakes and some inland waters of the Badger State, too.
Burbot and lake trout were the two top native predator fish in the Great Lakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Historical records indicate burbot were among the catches of early settlers of Jones Island in Milwaukee and were later targeted by commercial fishermen.
The species suffered mightily when sea lampreys gained entry to the lake as it was opened to ocean-going vessels. Due to sea lamprey parasitism, the burbot population in Lake Michigan collapsed between 1930 and the early 1960s, according to the USGS.
Once sea lamprey control was implemented, burbot began a comeback.
But unlike lake trout, which were raised and stocked by the tens of millions by federal officials over the decades, the humble burbot was left to fend for itself.
A remarkable thing has happened in recent decades.
The burbot is staging a comeback. One of the keys has been the native fish's ability to feed on the round goby, a relatively new aquatic invasive species that has inundated benthic, or bottom, habitat in much of the lake.
That's the primary feeding zone of burbot, which have a single barbel on their lower jaw and two pointy extensions on their pectoral fins to sense – or hone in on – prey along the bottom.
With a large mouth, strong jaws and a muscular tail, the burbot is a highly formidable predator.
It's also becoming clear it has a critical trait for long-term survival – adaptability. Diet studies in the last two decades have shown burbot feed heavily on gobies, a food source that wasn't even on its menu 50 years ago.
"Burbot just vacuum the gobies up," Dave Jude, Great Lakes fisheries expert and research scientist emeritus at the University of Michigan, told me in 2019. "They are responding to a new opportunity."
I've long admired burbot and have sought them out on Wisconsin and Minnesota waters through the ice as well as open water.
I'm not alone.
The fish – also called eelpout and lawyer – has for 40 years been the star at the International Eelpout Festival on Leech Lake.
The three-day event typically draws more than 10,000 people to tiny Walker, Minnesota (pop. 1,069).
Closer to home anglers are becoming more and more aware of burbot and even targeting the fish.
Burbot strike readily, fight hard and, with firm, white flesh, make excellent table fare. Boiled in 7-Up and served with drawn butter, they have earned another nickname: freshwater lobster.
It has been common in recent years to see dozens of anglers at the Milwaukee lakefront on December evenings fishing and catching burbot.
The scene last December at the mouth of the Milwaukee River was the most uplifting Lake Michigan shore fishing experience I've been part of since I pursued yellow perch in my youth in Racine.
The perch are pretty much gone from our portion of Lake Michigan. But the burbot have survived. And appear to be thriving.
Which highlights the need for change.
Burbot are currently classified as a rough fish in Wisconsin law. That groups them with undesirables such as common carp, goldfish, Asian carp and alewife.
It's not clear why burbot was ever put in such a group. Historical records indicate burbot were valuable to American Indians, early European settlers and later commercial fishermen.
To lump burbot in with rough fish is wrong and disrespectful.
It also means the species has no protection.
It's time to start the ball rolling to get burbot removed from the list of Wisconsin rough fish.
As a first step, I'll be submitting a citizen resolution at the 2021 spring hearings to measure public support for the reclassification.
I'll submit the resolution in Milwaukee County, and will ask friends and other like-minded conservationists around the state to replicate it in additional counties. Like last year, the spring hearings questions and resolutions will be offered online this year, from April 12 through 15.
The results of such measures are non-binding. But they can result in a statewide advisory question in subsequent years.
And in this case, the issue ultimately must be resolved in the Legislature through a change in state law.
But I'm hopeful the resolution will enjoy good support and will demonstrate to lawmakers the idea is worth pursuing.
If a state senator or representative wants to take up the matter sooner, that would be excellent.
Call it burbot, eelpout or lawyer. But let's stop referring to it as a rough fish, a name and classification it never deserved.
Let's elevate the native survivor to the level that accurately reflects its value and status in our waters.