10-13-2003, 10:36 PM
The Michigan DNR is proposing a complete closure of the April/May walleye season on Lake Erie for the Michigan waters effective for the spring of 2004. The purported purpose of the closure is to reduce the walleye catch on Lake Erie, however the proposed new regulations will have little affect on the overall walleye catch on Erie. If it becomes law, this ill conceived proposal will just shift the catch to the Detroit River and the Ohio waters of Lake Erie during the Michigan closure period. The real irony is that during the proposed closure, Canadian gill netters will still be allowed to take walleyes and they literally line the boarder with a gauntlet of nets at that time of year. The new regs will greatly impact businesses that depend on spring Lake Erie walleye fishing in Michigan. It would also unfairly punish anglers who ply Erie's waters during the spring by forcing them to travel to Ohio ports or run long distances to reach Ohio waters. The Detroit River certainly doesn't need any more fishing pressure either. It is perhaps the worst proposal the DNR has ever come up with, but it is not a done-deal yet. Anyone with an interest in Lake Erie walleye fishing should take action now. Start by writing a letter to the Director of the Department of Natural Resources Mr. K. L. Kool, P.O. Box 30028, Lansing, MI 48909. Follow up that letter with another letter or email to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Commission: Attention: Ms. Teresa Gloden, P.O. Box 30028, Lansing, MI 48909, or email glodent@MICHIGAN.GOV. Then, phone the Commission at (517) 373-2352 to be included to speak at the commission meeting on October 7, 2003 at Lansing, which is when the issue will be taken up before a vote in November. You can make a difference.
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