Project
Assessing Smallmouth Bass spatial ecology and angling response in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie using acoustic telemetry
Smallmouth Bass are a prized Great Lakes sportfish species. The Lake Erie basin, specifically Lake St. Clair and the West Basin of Lake Erie, are among the most popular Smallmouth Bass fisheries in the world, yet managers lack information on spatial population structure and functional habitat, behaviors associated with vulnerability to angling, and post-release angling mortality, particularly in real world at-large conditions. While directly relevant to the management of Smallmouth Bass these metrics are notoriously difficult to determine and have received less attention in the system than highly harvested species such as Walleye. This proposal uses acoustic telemetry to address these knowledge gaps and answer key questions necessary to support high quality nearshore Smallmouth Bass populations.