1 1?NrTTUTE FOR FISH-ERý& ESE;GH 85-4 85-5 FISHERIES DIVISION TECHNICAL REPORT Michigan's 1981 and 1982 Sport Fishery 9 "IZZ -4 and 85-5 18, 1985 I I I I U I, I a, ~ ~ _ I,, Ills Michigan Department of Natural Resources * 4 p. ii MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES FISHERIES DIVISION Fisheries Technical Reports No. 85-4 and No. 85-5 December 18, 1985 MICHIGAN'S 1981 AND 1982 SPORT FISHERY Gale C. Jamsen1 1A contribution of Federal Aid in Fisheries Restoration, Michigan Project F-40-R. MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES FISHERIES DIVISION Fisheries Technical Report No. 85-4 December 18, 1985 MICHIGAN'S 1981 SPORT FISHERY Gale C. Jamsen 3 SUMMARY In 1981 licensed anglers spent approximately 23.4 million days f ishing in Michigan. Great Lakes fishing (all species) and anadromous salmonid fishing accounted for approximately 38% of the total ef fort or about 9 million angler days. Inland lake and stream fishing accounted for nearly 14.4 million angler days. INTRODUCTION In 1981 a stratified sample of licensed anglers was questioned by mail about their sportfishing activity. The survey objective was to assess benefits in angler days resulting from recreational fishing in Michigan by location and type of fishing. SURVEY PROCEDURES The survey samples were selected for the first time from computer files listing nearly 1.4 million licensed anglers. Spouses of resident license holders and young people under 17 years of age were again excluded because they did not need to purchase licenses. The survey sample was stratified by residence to obtain better estimates of angling in the northern region of the state. Residents of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with zip codes rangring from 49701 through 49972, were sampled randomly at a 4% rate. The second stratum was formed from a 2% random sample of the remaining license holders. SURVEY RESULTS Estimates of sportfishing effort (angler days) were stratified by Fisheries Management District (Fig. 1) and Great Lakes (Tables 1 and 2). They continue to serve as an index of program benefits provided by fisheries management in Michigan. In the past, catch estimates also were presented. However, since upward bias is believed to be significant in the mail survey catch estimates, field interviews (Great Lakes monitoring program) are now being used for determining catch rates. If the bias in mail survey catch can be assumed constant across species groupings, some observations can be made about its 4 Inland lake fishing accounted for 73% of the estimated 14.4 million angler days of total inland fishing. About 50% of the inland fishing occurred in the southern one-half of the Lower Peninsula where 88% of the population reside. Panfish (bluegill, sunfish, crappie, etc.), perch, and bass comprised 62%, 20%, and 6% of the inland lake catch, respectively. The remainder of the catch consisted mostly of northern pike, walleye, trout, bullhead, suckers, and carp. 5 ~, SUp O 5 7 0 - KU -J Ii Figure 1. Michigan fisheries management regions (I-III) and districts (1-14). 6 Table 1. Estimated angler days (thousands) of fishing effort by management district and type of fishery, 1981. Great Lakes Inland District Salmonid Anadromous Non-salmonid Trout Non-trout Total 1 122 62 20 142 298 644 2 22 10 14 74 287 407 3 108 49 213 163 247 780 4 70 29 364 93 335 891. 5 147 147 127 242 1,072 1,735 6 798 703 235 417 1,599 3,752 7 233 186 207 465 1,286 2,377 8 75 35 317 168 911 1,506 9 392 274 285 176 1,142 2,269 11 166 18 1,138 9 587 1,918 12 403 201 99 180 1,924 2,807 13 8 15 428 62 1,367 1,880 14 28 4 1,243 56 1,083 2,414 Total 2,572 1,733 4,690 2,247 12,138 23,380 7 Table 2. Angler days (thousands) of fishing effort for Great Lakes fish by lake and watershed, 1981. Stream Location Salmonid Non-salmonid salmonid Total Lake Michigan 1,730 906 1,328 3,964 Lake Huron 554 1,305 275 2,134 Lake St. Clair 59 1,892 1 1,952 Lake Erie 9 513 12 534 Lake Superior 220 74 117 411 Total 2,572 4,690 1,733 8,995