REGIONAL— Members of the Fond du Lac Band are expected to begin their spring netting on Lake Vermilion as early as next week. The annual event is part of the Band’s efforts to exercise its off-reservation fishing rights within the 1854 Treaty area.
The spring harvest, which can be undertaken using either nets or spears, is typically held ahead of the statewide fishing opener, usually just after ice-out. That could prove a complication for this year’s harvest, since ice was still lingering on much of Vermilion as of this week.
The harvest is well-regulated, with fisheries staff measuring each of the fish caught by the dozen or so band members who typically turn out for the harvest. A post-harvest report issued by the Band records the number of fish and total pounds taken.
On Vermilion, the Band has typically rotated its harvest between the eastern and western basins of the lake. This year, the Fond du Lac have declared a maximum harvest of 7,820 pounds from the west end, but the actual harvest is likely to be much less than that.
Last year, Fond du Lac members harvested 1,100 pounds of fish from Vermilion’s eastern basin, after declaring a maximum harvest of 10,000 pounds. In 2021, the Band declared a maximum harvest of 10,000 pounds, again from the east end, but actually harvested just 625 pounds.
“1,100 pounds of harvest would be unidentifiable in our Lake Vermilion netting survey,” said Keith Reeves, Tower Area DNR fisheries manager. “They are probably affected by late spring ice-outs because their netting ends by walleye opener,” said Reeves. “I suspect their efforts will be affected again this year.”
Since 2016, the Fond du Lac annual harvest has ranged from 1,758 pounds in 2016 to zero in 2020, a year that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reeves said most Fond du Lac members focus their efforts on Mille Lacs, which is closer to many of their homes, and less subject than Vermilion to late ice-outs. Reeves said a 2017 Memorandum of Understanding that includes the DNR and Fond du Lac outlines steps to be taken if tribal harvest approaches their actual allocation. “But the Band harvest on Lake Vermilion has been well under that,” said Reeves.
The Band typically declares its intention to harvest fish from about a dozen other lakes in the 1854 Treaty zone. However, in recent years, most of those lakes have experienced no harvesting activity by the Fond du Lac as part of their spring season.