Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Maintain a diverse, abundant prey fish community.

Maintain a diverse, abundant prey fish community that is capable of sustaining abundant warm-, cool-, and cold-water predators and that contributes to ecosystem function and sustainable human use. The LEC recognizes that it cannot directly manage prey fish populations, even though they are essential to support the Lake Erie basin fisheries. The LEC especially values native prey species but recognizes that naturalized prey species can be an important part of the prey fish community, predator diets, and targeted fisheries.

Variability in prey fish abundance was associated with general declines in the growth and condition of predators such as lake trout and walleye during 2021–2025.