Evidence of nearshore in-lake spawning Walleye in the central basin of Lake Erie

Walleye Sander vitreus are economically and ecologically vital to Lake Erie and have multiple spawning stocks that contribute to the lakewide population. These unique Walleye stocks typically spawn in discrete spawning aggregations in riverine and shallow, open-lake reef habitats during springtime in the western, eastern, and central basins. Yet, most spawning research has been conducted in the western and eastern basins. Therefore, the goal of our study was to document evidence of Walleye utilizing a central basin nearshore reef for reproduction. We used gill nets from 20 March to 15 May 2012, on Hardy Point Reef (HPR; near Fairport Harbor, Ohio) to collect spawning Walleye. Larval light traps and egg mats were deployed to capture fertilized eggs and newly hatched larvae. We captured 281 actively spawning Walleye using overnight-set gill nets from HPR. Five fertilized Walleye eggs and two larval Walleye were captured from HPR. Our study provided evidence that successful Walleye spawning occurred at HPR in the central basin of Lake Erie. Further research should identify potential additional Walleye spawning locations in the central basin and quantify these contributions to the Lake Erie population to help facilitate lake wide management and preservation of spawning stocks.