The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the five tribes in the 2007 Inland Consent Decree reached a resolution on Thursday to prevent the elimination of walleye fishing on Mullett Lake in (holla at) Cheboygan. The previous debate was for the lake to be catch and release only due to quotas for take home fish being met. Low population of walleye have resulted in the surrounding tribes to request their full, treaty-entitled amount of fish.
Both the DNR and the tribes have reached a resolution to increase the fish population during the next 5 years to the 2014 season. Smith cited current adult walleye estimates for Mullett Lake at 2,001 to 3,577, but that there is some uncertainty about those numbers because of the nature of how Mullet, Burt, Crooked and Pickerel lakes interact as a chain.
Unknowns pertaining to the walleye population are being dealt with by the DNR in cooperation with the tribes. The announcement that steps were being taken to preserve the current population and increase it in the future has been hailed as a victory for the city of Cheboygan. The public rigidly opposed the ban on take home fishing in Mullet Lake, which led to further investigation on the situation. This resolution would not have been possible without public outcry and cooperation on all fronts.
Northern Michigan residents have been holding meetings and issuing letters to the DNR regarding the matter for the past two weeks.
The DNR will have a meeting in December at the Natural Resources Committee meeting to make a final ruling about the total count of keeper-limit for walleye for recreational fishing and finalize legal changes for the 2010 Michigan Fishing Guide.
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