PORT CLINTON, Ohio — Experts are puzzled over the explosion of the walleye population in Lake Erie, but anglers pursuing Ohio’s most popular fish couldn’t be happier.
Fisheries experts at the Ohio Division of Wildlife say the bountiful supply of walleye in recent years is difficult to explain, but the $800 million state sport fishing industry has benefited greatly.
The Plain Dealer reports that after a decades-old roller coaster ride with the walleye population, the number caught in the US waters of Lake Erie nearly increased from 417,000 in 2011 to almost 2 million in 2018.
Ohio banned commercial walleye fishing in the late 1960s to allow the Lake Erie population to recover. With the popularity and economic value of sport fishing for walleye, it is unlikely that will change.
