Updated 2026-08-12 20:22:40
Lake Erie-2021-2025 -> 1.0 Intensively Managed Species -> White Bass Population and Fisheries
Reporting Interval
2021 - 2025
Area
Lake Erie - West and Central Basins
Meeting Target?
Meets
Indicator Trend
Downward trend
Confidence?
Medium
Maintain a white bass population with sustainable levels of adult biomass that can support sustainable lakewide harvest
White bass (Morone chrysops) are targeted by both commercial and sport fisheries in Ontario and Ohio waters of Lake Erie. Smaller, mainly sport fisheries, also exist in other jurisdictional waters. The Lake Erie Committee (LEC) identified a management objective that maintains the white bass adult population in the west and central basins at levels that are adequate to support natural recruitment and permit sustainable targeted commercial and sport harvest. The population is considered sustainable if there are enough adults to support stable recruitment and long-term fisheries.
White bass are assessed using a population model that incorporates fishery and agency data to estimate population size and sustainable harvest levels. If the adult population falls below a level of abundance known as the limit reference point, management interventions in the form of harvest reductions are considered. The limit reference point for white bass is 20% of the unfished adult biomass.
During the 2021-2025 reporting period, the estimated biomass of adult white bass exhibited a declining trend following a peak in 2015 (Figure 1). The average adult biomass for the reporting period (1.9 million kgs) was below the long-term average (5.4 million kgs), while being above the limit reference point (LRP; 1.3 million kgs) in all five years. The adult biomass is very close the LRP and the population will require strong recruitment in the coming years to slow or reverse the declining trend in adult biomass (Figure 1). White bass harvest had a declining trend during the reporting period with an average annual harvest of 0.52 million kgs (Figure 2). Annual harvest was below the long-term average of 1.4 million kgs in all five years.
Figure 1. Estimated white bass adult biomass (kg) in the west and central basins of Lake Erie relative to the limit reference point (20% of the average unfished adult biomass), 1986-2025. The population is considered sustainable if the adult biomass is above the limit reference point.
Figure 2. Annual white bass harvest (kg) in commercial (Ontario, Ohio) and sport (Ohio) fisheries in the west and central basins of Lake Erie, 1986-2025, compared to the time series average.
Methodology
The annual adult biomass is estimated using a statistical catch-at-age analysis (SCAA) model. The model uses harvest and effort data from Ontario commercial gill nets and Ohio trap nets in the west and central basins of Lake Erie, along with gill net survey data from Ontario and Ohio. The previous version of the SCAA model included harvest and effort from Ohio recreational fisheries as well; however, a lack of age composition data and very low angler effort in recent years led to the removal of the data from the model. Comparisons of model outputs with and without Ohio recreational harvest and effort data showed little difference between the models. Data were collected by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Ontario commercial harvest is reported by commercial fishers using daily catch reports. Landed catch is monitored dockside by OMNR port observers and in fish processing plants by weight observers. Ontario commercial harvest includes catch from gill nets, trap nets and trawl nets. Data presented here includes harvest from the west and central basins of Lake Erie. Ohio commercial harvest and effort is reported using electronic daily catch reports and is confirmed by ODNR Investigators dockside. Ohio commercial harvest includes catch from trap nets and seine nets. Ohio open-water recreational harvest is estimated through angler interviews conducted during annual creel surveys in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie.
Other Resources
- Lake Erie Committee (LEC). 2020. Fish Community Objectives for the Lake Erie Basin. Available at: https://glfc.org/pubs/FisheryMgmtDocs/Fmd20-01.pdf.
Contributing Author(s)
- Megan Belore - OMNR
- Michael Thorn - OMNR
- Matt Faust - ODNR