Landwehr: DNR expects to stock Mille Lacs with walleye
Updated 1:15 p.m. | Posted 8:08 a.m.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is working on a possible stocking plan for Lake Mille Lacs to boost the walleye population.
While some DNR scientists are skeptical, DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr says it's worth considering.
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A pilot stocking program next summer "will put a substantial number of fish in the lake, but also use it as an opportunity to evaluate what impact stocking has," Landwehr told MPR News. "There's some really sophisticated techniques we can use with certain chemical markers to evaluate what the survival of those fish is."
Walleye numbers are at a 30-year low on the lake and the DNR is under pressure to do something about it. The department closed the lake to walleye fishing this week after anglers hit their quota early.
Gov. Mark Dayton is pushing lawmakers to support his plan for aid to local resorts and businesses that were hit by tight catch limits and an early end to the walleye season.
Landwehr told MPR News' Morning Edition that stocking the lake would not be giving in to political pressure.
The walleye decline has to do with an imbalance between predators and prey, which is something DNR officials can't control with just fishing regulations, he added.