GLATOS

Bay of Quinte Walleye

Project Title

Migration and Spatial Ecology of Bay of Quinte/Eastern Lake Ontario Walleye

Project Code

BQWAL

Project Duration

April 2017 - December 2029

Project Description

In April and May 2017, twenty-six (26) Bay of Quinte Walleye were captured and equipped with internal acoustic transmitters and external identification tags. We plan to tag twenty (20) additional Walleye in eastern Lake Ontario during late-summer 2017. The movements of these fish will be tracked by fixed receivers through-out the Bay of Quinte and eastern Lake Ontario for five (5) years.

Objectives

What proportion of the Walleye tagged in the Bay of Quinte at spawning time migrates to eastern Lake Ontario? What proportion returns to spawn the following spring and when does the migration occur? What proportion of the Walleye tagged in the Kingston Basin in the summer migrate to the Bay of Quinte and when does this migration occur?
What is the seasonal pattern of Walleye movement within the Kingston Basin during the summer?
What is the overall distributional range of migratory Bay of Quinte Walleye?

Management Benefits

The goal of the present work is to increase our understanding of Walleye migration and movement patterns particularly of the migratory Walleye inhabiting the Kingston Basin of eastern Lake Ontario during summer. The increased knowledge will help us define the distributional range of this migratory population and better manage to sustain this important Walleye fishery.

Investigators

Bruce Tufts (Queen's University) - tuftsb@queensu.ca
Connor Elliott (Queen's University - Freshwater Fisheries Conservation Lab)
Erin Brown (Ontario Ministry Of Natural Resources And Forestry - Lake Ontario Management Unit)
Mark Ridgway (Ontario Ministry Of Natural Resources And Forestry)

Participating Organizations

Queen's University, Freshwater Fisheries Conservation Lab
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Lake Ontario Management Unit

Funding

Queen's University
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry