number of lakes and number of fishermen

[Bobby B.]

This is from the Alberta Conservation Association

Ontario has 250,000 fish-bearing
lakes, with 585,000 licensed anglers,
or 2.3 anglers per lake.

Saskatchewan has 94,000 fish-bearing lakes,
with about 184,000 licensed anglers,
or 1.9 anglers per lake.

Alberta has only 800 lakes with fish,
but 250,000 licenced anglers, or
312 anglers per lake.

Bobby B.

[Wild&Free]

Lot less licensed anglers this year then in years past it seems. I remember that statistic being closer to 800k with 800 lakes a few years ago.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by Wild&Free

Lot less licensed anglers this year then in years past it seems. I remember that statistic being closer to 800k with 800 lakes a few years ago.

800k anglers??? Are you sure about that?

With unlicensed anglers (under 16 and over 65) I have seen estimates at something around 300,000 plus anglers or roughly 400 anglers per fish bearing lake. If the average angler makes 6 fishing trips per year that's 2400 angler days per lake on average.

Now consider that easily accessible lakes are going to se a lot more angler use than lakes not easily accessed. Any one care to hazard a guess at the angler days lakes like Wabumun or Pigeon would see in a year?

[Redfrog]

Thank God for catch and release.

[Pikebreath]

These kind of numbers explain why we have low daily and or mandatory C&R. It also explains why we have minimum size limits which allow fish to spawn once or twice before being harvested. ,,,,, and why we don't see widespread use of slot limits here in Alberta. In a lot of lakes there are more angler days than there are harvestable fish in any particular slot size range. If you allow everyone to take one or two immature fish per angling day, very few if any fish would grow through the slot to become the larger spawners.

Tags (as popular and unpopular as they are) are SRD's attempt at slot limits becuz the harvest can be limited.

I expect we will see more use of tags for harvesting fish in the future.

[Redfrog]

I'm curious about these numbers for U.S. lakes.

[Freedom55]

A while ago someone stated that no right thinking Albertan would move to Saskatchewan.

Now it's just me and some other guy.

On the whole pond.

Every time!

Free

[fishmonger]

Not everyone is a C&R fisherman...nor should they be. Not everyone is an anti-hunter...nor should they be.

Canada is blessed with resources, we choose to utilize them in our own way.

I don't hunt, but I do fish. I don't keep/kill Alberta fish, but I have kept the odd walleye in the past, and I certainly keep BC coastal species. To each his/her own. It's unfair to pass judgement on those sportsmen who choose to enjoy wild meat, fish or fowl.

Our resources belong to all Canadians, not just to the elite, the fortunate, or the self righteous....with or without thick foreign accents.

To the point of the OPs original comment...Alberta has over 150 times the fishing pressure of Sask and other provinces. Reading into that statistic, that's probably why we have reduced limits, collapsed zero-retention fisheries, and a tag system, among other fishery initiatives, in an effort to halt the further decline of a fragile resource.

"Sustainability"

The "powers that be" have determined that it is sustainable to keep a walleye over XX cms from YY lake...who are we to say different?

Or do we wait until "AO forum scientists" give the OK to allow us to re-begin the harvest?

[SKSniper]

Never once did I pass judgement on anybody, nor did I say only some people should be aloud to fish. I simply said it is very irritating to sit and listen to people who limit out every time bitch about there not being enough fish in Alberta. It's quite hypocritical if you ask me, keeping fish every chance you get and then turning around and complaining that the fisheries here suck.

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by SKSniper

Never once did I pass judgement on anybody, nor did I say only some people should be aloud to fish. I simply said it is very irritating to sit and listen to people who limit out every time bitch about there not being enough fish in Alberta. It's quite hypocritical if you ask me, keeping fish every chance you get and then turning around and complaining that the fisheries here suck.

There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.

[huntsfurfish]

[QUOTE=pickrel pat;2047051]There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.[/QUOTE]

For a while. Then you would/could end up with a collapsed fishery again.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

There are places where the fishing pressure is higjer and your allowed to take fish home each day. Only difference is in those places they keep fish under a certian size. Here we keep fish over a certian size. Thats partly why some of our lakes are full of little dinks. If we harvested the smaller fish we would have more size classes in the lake.

So where are these places with higher fishing pressure and you can keep little fish every day?

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, they can measure the average walleye catch rate in hours per fish,,, here in Alberta it's measured in fish per hour.

I agree we need to look at the practice of putting all the harvest on the oldest and largest fish. Slot limits do work when the harvest within the slot allows enough recruitment through the slot to reach the desired population level of the protected size. This can be accomplished with light to moderate angling and / or combined with restrictive limits (which in Alberta, would likely mean tags).

Lake studies by our SRD over the past 20 - 30 years seem to indicate a sustainable walleye harvest of maybe 1 - 3 kg of walleye per hectare of lake depending on lake productivity. Now consider that lakes like Pinehurst get over 10 hours of angling effort per ha in a summer,,,, http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/de...A344127CD738CB ,,,, (Buck lake was over 20 hours / ha and Pine was over 40!!!)

Can these lakes support an open slot limit of one 1 kg walleye per day per angler? Hardly!!!!

But could a slot limit combined with a limited harvest (tags) work? Sure it would , but such an idea needs better angler acceptance for it to happen.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Pikebreath

So where are these places with higher fishing pressure and you can keep little fish every day?

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, they can measure the average walleye catch rate in hours per fish,,, here in Alberta it's measured in fish per hour.

I agree we need to look at the practice of putting all the harvest on the oldest and largest fish. Slot limits do work when the harvest within the slot allows enough recruitment through the slot to reach the desired population level of the protected size. This can be accomplished with light to moderate angling and / or combined with restrictive limits (which in Alberta, would likely mean tags).

Lake studies by our SRD over the past 20 - 30 years seem to indicate a sustainable walleye harvest of maybe 1 - 3 kg of walleye per hectare of lake depending on lake productivity. Now consider that lakes like Pinehurst get over 10 hours of angling effort per ha in a summer,,,, http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/de...A344127CD738CB ,,,, (Buck lake was over 20 hours / ha and Pine was over 40!!!)

Can these lakes support an open slot limit of one 1 kg walleye per day per angler? Hardly!!!!

But could a slot limit combined with a limited harvest (tags) work? Sure it would , but such an idea needs better angler acceptance for it to happen.

Agree, and that is already in place.

But areas with light to moderate pressure likely can sustain limit of one to 3 fish over a certain length insuring sustainability. Even if pressure increases will allow time for adjustment (3 fish to 1 fish or increase in size limit).

[Bobby B.]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

Not everyone is a C&R fisherman...nor should they be. Not everyone is an anti-hunter...nor should they be.

Canada is blessed with resources, we choose to utilize them in our own way.

I don't hunt, but I do fish. I don't keep/kill Alberta fish, but I have kept the odd walleye in the past, and I certainly keep BC coastal species. To each his/her own. It's unfair to pass judgement on those sportsmen who choose to enjoy wild meat, fish or fowl.

Our resources belong to all Canadians, not just to the elite, the fortunate, or the self righteous....with or without thick foreign accents.

To the point of the OPs original comment...Alberta has over 150 times the fishing pressure of Sask and other provinces. Reading into that statistic, that's probably why we have reduced limits, collapsed zero-retention fisheries, and a tag system, among other fishery initiatives, in an effort to halt the further decline of a fragile resource.

"Sustainability"

The "powers that be" have determined that it is sustainable to keep a walleye over XX cms from YY lake...who are we to say different?

Or do we wait until "AO forum scientists" give the OK to allow us to re-begin the harvest?

That makes alot of sense to me. I hear it all the time what a great 'trophy pike' lake Wabamun is. Isn't that because it's C+R?

Some 40 years ago when I first started moose hunting, no one had ATV's. And, no one wanted to pack a moose out very far. So, most guys drove the few roads that existed and pretty much shot their moose on or near the road. What this allowed for is the moose deep back in the bush to remain relatively safe from hunters. So, with a healthy population of 'safe' moose to constantly produce sufficient numbers to allow for enough 'roadside' moose to be killed, moose hunting was always good. Now, with ATV's and vast numbers of roads providing access to the 'safe' moose, draws are required to limit the number of moose licences and thus the number of moose killed.

Bobby B.