Assessment of the Status of the Sport Fishery for Walleye and Northern Pike, and Statistics for Yellow Perch at Iosegun Lake 1998

Author(s)

Sheldon Kowalchuk and Chris Davis

Summary

Alberta's fisheries managers developed a walleye management plan in 1995 (Berry 1995) to provide provincial standards for classifying walleye stocks. A similar northern pike management plan has recently been completed (Berry 1999) and preliminary data analysis for yellow perch began in 1999. The walleye fishery at Iosegun Lake was classified as stable in 1996 (Alberta Environmental Protection 1996). A daily bag limit of three walleye and a minimum size limit of 430 mm total length (TL) accompanied this classification. A creel survey was conducted in the summer of 1998 in order to assess the status of the walleye fishery, and provide data on the northern pike and yellow perch fisheries. 

Based on the classification criteria for walleye stocks in Alberta, the Iosegun Lake walleye fishery should likely remin at the stable classification. Preliminary analysis of the data for northern pike suggest that this fishery would fit into the vulnerable classification, as six of nine criteria placed it in this category. Based on the northern pike management plan (Berry 1999), such a classification would result in a minimum size limit of 63 cm total length and one fish per day harvest limit in 2000. Some data on yellow perch was collected and reported in anticipation of the development of a yellow perch management plan for Alberta. 

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