Northern Pike: Ecology, Conservation, and Management History

Closing Thoughts about Pike Management in Minnesota

175 175 Closing Thoughts about Pike Management in Minnesota The future of northern pike management in Minnesota is closely tied to social questions. For example, how will we partition the use of pike resources among all the groups interested in pike fishing ? In most lakes,we will need to choose between management strategies that promote pike harvests or management strategies that promote bigger pike. If we want to manage for bigger pike, we need to severely restrict the harvest of large pike,and there are important biological reasons for this. First,it can take a long time to grow a large pike. Second,large pike are very vulnerable to being caught and can easily be overharvested. The large fish are typically the least productive segment of a pike population. Length regulations seem to be our best tools for producing bigger pike,but the trade-off is that severe length regulations do not allow people to keep as many fish. Harvest is reduced to produce bigger pike,and not everyone agrees that reduced harvest is an acceptable trade-off. A handcrafted sign observed at a public access provided a poignant view of the issue. The carefully made sign stated that “Large fish are too valuable to be caught only once.” A mischievous character with a pencil added his own inscription to the bottom half of the sign: “There’s plenty of room for all God’s animals . . . right next to the mashed potatoes. Catch and fillet!” People target pike for a variety of reasons. While some enthusiastically seek largeor even trophy-size pike,others prefer catching any size fish for a meal,some want to relax and fish without having to worry about closing thoughts c l o s i n g t h o u g h t s 176 FIGURE C.1. The northern pike is a popular fish for recreational fishing, but public consensus about how many lakes should be managed with special regulations is a complicated issue. c l o s i n g t h o u g h t s 177 excessive regulation, and still others enjoy the tradition of darkhouse spearing. These people have very different opinions about what pike fishing should look like in the future,and any changes in pike management elicit heated responses and even backlash in the state’s legislature. Fortunately, Minnesota is blessed with a huge northern pike resource; pike populations are plentiful in lakes, streams, and rivers throughout the state. They are plentiful enough that pike management today is a matter of trying to provide adequate fishing opportunities for the different fishing groups. Therefore,pike may be managed differently from one lake to another,and the critical issue is getting public consensus on how many lakes should be managed for bigger pike with special regulations, and where those lakes should be located (Figure C.1). During summer 2010, research surveys (questionnaires) from the University of Minnesota Department of Fisheries,Wildlife and Conservation Biology were sent to licensed pike anglers and spearers. The survey’s purpose is to get better feedback on how well the interests of various pike fishing groups are being balanced. Hopefully the surveys will provide some guidance about the future use of special regulations in Minnesota. The second important question affecting the future is,to what extent will human population growth and land development alter shorelines and watersheds surrounding public waters? How can the public interests in fishing,aquatic habitats,and water quality be balanced with private landowners’ interests in developing their properties? Casselman and Lewis (1996) and Margenau et al. (2008) have documented that the incremental loss of wetlands,changes in shoreline cover and structure, and addition of excess nutrients to the water have affected water quality and clarity, aquatic plants,and,ultimately,the habitat of northern pike. From a lake stewardship standpoint,it is clear that whatever we do to the land affects the water and the fish in it. Yet,time and again we see new instances of natural shorelines that are altered to create lawns, c l o s i n g t h o u g h t s 178 FIGURE C.2. Filamentous algae bloom as a result of lawn runoff at an Itasca County lake. The rest of the shoreline around the lake had clear water, dramatically illustrating how one lawn can pollute the water. [3.141.244.201] Project MUSE (2024-04-23 20:38...