In its second year, DEC Region 6 Fisheries in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) New York Field Office continues a walleye acoustic telemetry study to better understand walleye populations in the St. Lawrence River and the Eastern Basin of Lake Ontario. The study is designed to assess walleye movements, relative use of important spawning sites, and determine how different spawning populations mix within the system. This information is important to inform management and habitat restoration decisions needed to protect and enhance this important fishery.
Walleye collected from the Black River, Chaumont River, Kents Creek, Oswegatchie River, Brandy Brook, and Little Sucker Brook were implanted with an internal tag that will be detected by acoustic receivers deployed throughout the system. A combined total of 210 walleye have been tagged in this study over the two-year period. Walleye with a surgically implanted tag will have a visible Floy® tag, either on their underside or at the base of their dorsal fin.
If you catch a tagged fish, you are not required to release it, but we strongly encourage it. Releasing it will allow the fish to continue to be part of the ongoing research project, as the tags have a ten-year battery life. If you catch a tagged fish, please report the tag number and capture location to the USFWS at (607) 753-9334.
