SHORELINES

Many Alabama anglers might be surprised to know that walleye swim in Alabama waters. State biologists want the prized gamefish to be not only present in state waters, but common enough for anglers to enjoy fishing for them. "Alabama is the natural range for the Southern walleye," said Chris McKee, a biologist working with the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries' Southern Walleye Restoration and Conservation Program. "ey are native only to the Mobile Drainage, so Mississippi and Alabama are the only states where they are found." e little-known species looks similar to the Northern walleye but is genetically distinct. And, unfortunately, Southern walleye numbers are declining. Biologists working with the restoration program hope to reverse that trend. Steve Rider, the division's rivers and streams coordinator, founded the program. As a young research associate at Auburn University, he studied walleye in Hatchet Creek, a tributary of Lake Mitchell. Taking samples in the 1990s, Rider captured 20 fish. When he returned to Hatchet Creek working with Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries in 2005, researchers struggled to capture a couple of fish. "So, we knew the population was declining," Rider said. Walleye live much of their lives in cool, deep water. But in February, walleye run into creeks and spawn in shallow water over gravel beds. ey need flowing water to spawn successfully, McKee said. Some of the walleye's spawning habitat has been destroyed by sedimentation, which can happen naturally or be caused by development and some timber management practices. Rider said he measured the depth of one hole in Hatchet Creek and it was 15 feet in the 1990s. He was told that it was 25 feet deep a decade earlier. A decade later, it was 8 to 9 feet. Habitat loss means walleye are losing their ability to spawn naturally. "eir natural reproduction is suppressed to the point that they're not going to be around very long unless we reproduce them and return them to the wild," McKee said. "If there's going to be a Southern walleye population in 40, 50 or 60 years, I think it will be because of a restocking program." While biologists might not be able to reverse habitat loss, Rider believes they can turn around the population decline. ey are working to capture fish, spawn them in a hatchery and release fry and fingerlings back into rivers and lakes. ey were able to do that in 2009 in Hatchet Creek. "e end result is that we get our genetically unique Southern walleye and restore them for the benefit of anglers," Rider said. "It's a unique fishery that I think people would enjoy if we could get them going." Biologists have had some success capturing male fish, but they've had a great deal of difficulty capturing any female fish. at's because male fish go to the spawning areas and stay there. Females swim upstream, lay their eggs and turn around immediately. ey aren't present long, so they are difficult to catch. 25 www.apcshorelines.com

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