The comment by John R. Hunt of May 26th in the North Bay Nugget regarding
slot size walleye regulation was right on! Public Adherence to a slot size regulation can
have all the economic and fisheries benefits he suggests. Conformance to the regulation
will result in an improved, more vibrant walleye population. However, the fact that the
article was restricted to only 4 online comments speaks volumes as to why slot size
regulation is not and will not work in the lakes of Northern Ontario.

On Lake Temagami our Stewardship Council collaborated with the MNR to
create a slot size regulation in 2003 based on considerable scientific data and the input of
local expertise. At the time the MNR’s experts told us that our slot was wrong. But
successive FWIN nettings studies by Laurentian University in 2003 and then in 2006 and
2007 showed the walleye population to be recovering significantly.

Unfortunately, a continuing recovery of the walleye fishery depends on a lot of
factors. The walleye may have a poor reproductive year. Things like dramatic change in
temperature or water level during the spawning season may influence the walleye’s
ability to have a successful spawning year. Remember the drastically low water levels
and walleye spawning areas high and dry in 2010.

Anglers may also become aware that there is no enforcement of fishing regulation
and with no threat of punishment for breaking the law some my pay no regard to the slot
size. It is also evident that the more fished down the population becomes the greater the
temptation to keep the only fish you catch even if it is in the slot size.
It was also noted in the restricted comment that the only management tool
employed by the MNR, the organization that we the public of Ontario would expect to be
responsible for the enhancement of the fishery, is to restrict access to the fishery. Why do
we accept the do nothing approach to fisheries management employed by the Ontario
MNR? You need to look no further than our neighbours to the south to find examples of
fisheries management that includes fisheries enhancement.

The netting of walleye exasperates all the above factors. Gill nets kill all the
walleye caught in them. Common sense would suggest that slot sized walleye are
released by non-Native anglers only to be killed in Native nets. What is the incentive for
non-Native anglers to release slot sized fish? The netting of any species of fish when they
are spawning puts tremendous stress on the fishery. On Lake Temagami we have had two
walleye spawning runs extinct for years. Being politically correct by restricting comment
and pretending the problems do not exist will not help our fisheries resource recover.