**ABSTRACT NOT FOR CITATION WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION. The title, authors, and abstract for this completion report are provided below.  For a copy of the full completion report, or with questions, please contact the GLFC via email at stp@glfc.org or via telephone at 734-662-3209.**

 

Review of assessment programs for Great Lake’s whitefish

 

 

 Megan Belore1, Jeff Black2, Steve Chong3, Adam Cottrill4, Jim Hoyle5, Brian Locke1, Lloyd Mohr4, and Bruce Morrison5

 

 

1 Lake Erie Management Unit, 320 Milo Road, RR#2, Wheatley, ON

2 Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, Suite 221E, 435 James St. S., Thunderbay, ON

3 Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, OFRI, 1235 Queen St.E., Sault.Ste. Marie, ON

4 Upper Great Lakes Management Unit, 1450 Seventh Avenue E., Owen Sound, ON

5 Lake Ontario Management Unit, 41 Hatchery Lane, RR#4, Picton, ON

 

 

March 2006

 

ABSTRACT:

 

The Great Lakes Assessment and Model Evaluation Review team was created to provide a basin wide focus to Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources stock assessment. This Coordinated Activities Project brought together members from the Province to one location to summarize and compare assessment and modeling methods used on whitefish and walleye on all Great Lakes. Field assessment programs used for walleye and whitefish are summarized in tabular form and each is discussed for four Great Lakes (excluding Lake Michigan). The use of some of the resulting field data in two models is also described as part of the projects purpose was to bring OMNR “up to speed” with the Upper Great Lakes Technical Committee of modelers. One model is regularly used as part of the quota setting process for lake whitefish found in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and the other is used for lake whitefish population estimation and quota setting within Lake Ontario. Mathematical differences among the models is described as well as the results generated from using each model to analyze both Lake Ontario and Lake Huron whitefish populations.