Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Updated 2024-11-22 14:38:47

Lake Superior -> 4.0 Lake Whitefish -> Age-1 Lake Whitefish Catch Rate

4.1.2 Average catch per effort of age-1 lake whitefish (< 160 mm) during the 5-year reporting period, as observed in the USGS spring bottom trawl survey, is at or above 4.5 fish/ha

Catch rates of age-1 lake whitefish from the spring USGS bottom trawl survey indicates lake whitefish recruitment.  During the reporting period, mean recruitment of lake whitefish is higher than the previous reporting period and above the target catch rates.  The 2021 recruitment event is one of the highest in the time series.

Figure 1. Relative density (number/ha) of age-1 (<160 mm) lake whitefish observed from samples collected by the United States Geological Survey's annual bottom trawl survey within nearshore waters of Lake Superior during 1978 - 2021. The green line represents the average density during 2017-2021. The orange line represents the minimum density value where the FCO is being achieved.