Wisconsin DNR schedules whitefish rule hearing for Jan. 4 (UW-Green Bay graduate student research)

The Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing in early January on its final rule proposal to more than double the commercial harvest of lake whitefish in the southern waters of Green Bay.The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 4; it will be held via Zoom. The rule has been developed over the last several years at the urging of the Lake Michigan Commercial Fishing Board in response to DNR estimates of a growing whitefish population in the bay.

…A UW-Whitewater study released in 2019found the Green Bay sport fishery had an annual contribution of $264 million to the region’s economy.

To assess the effects of trap and gill nets on sport fish, over the last two years a UW-Green Bay graduate student accompanied commercial fishermen and documented the results of 593 trap net lifts and 29 large mesh gill net lifts.

Source: Wisconsin DNR schedules whitefish rule hearing for Jan. 4