The Data is In (Finally)

[jbritch]

I finally got the perch harvest data this week (thank Shawn Goode) and here's the old graph with the 2013 and part of 2014 yellow and white perch totals:



The numbers for 2013: 87,806 yellow perch and 37,535 white perch (pounds).  The 2014 numbers appear dramatically higher despite missing the 4th quarter, so it was obviously a very good recovery year.  Remember that these numbers are not just from Lake Champlain but include inland waters, too.  And, these numbers are only those fish sold commercially and don't include the catches from guys like me who don't sell any.

I can't find where I wrote down my prediction so if anyone can remember, please post it.  I think the yellow perch number is about what the model predicted.

Can't wait to get out there...

[perchhauler]

thought you were predicting the demise of the yellow perch population? At this time, I believe commorants are the largest threat to our fish populations and need to be controlled soon. This fall they have been hammering the bays throughout the islands, and missisquoi  bay.  Day after day, thousands upon thousands of them are out there.

[flagfishon]

I don't think that we can safely assume any conclusions from only one piece of data.  The graph shows that more fish were sold, as was pointed out.  One could attribute this to higher populations, but it may also mean that more people sold fish last year(bad economy), or there was a longer season, better ice, better weather on weekends, a shortage of food for perch(hungry fish are easier to catch) and any number of things. 

I would be more interested in the average sizes and weight of the fish caught.

[Light liner]

Thanks for sharing interesting stuff.
That's a lot of white perch

[perch bait]

White Perch numbers have definitely increased over the last couple years. I had no idea that that many Perch were sold each year! Very interesting.

[fishy1]

i am catching lots of white perch below the champlain bridge but 80 per cent are 4 to 6 inch size. catching bigger ones are rare to say the least. yellows are plentiful in certain areas where ever the cormorants arnt located and mostly 6 to 8 inch size. 10 years ago or so catching lots of bigger white perch was the norm and very easy to do.

[esox_xtm]

I don't think that we can safely assume any conclusions from only one piece of data.  The graph shows that more fish were sold, as was pointed out.  One could attribute this to higher populations, but it may also mean that more people sold fish last year(bad economy), or there was a longer season, better ice, better weather on weekends, a shortage of food for perch(hungry fish are easier to catch) and any number of things. 

I would be more interested in the average sizes and weight of the fish caught.

I agree that more data returns more reliable analysis. As far as which came first, I tend toward harvest success (or lack thereof) drives everything. Most fish companies harvest everything they can up to legal limits in hopes of selling. If anything management of your commercial harvest season might have the biggest impact on those numbers as it's possible those limits change based on regulation.

The most interesting thing about your graph is the biennial pattern for yellows that shows the population/success rate swings every other year. Let's say harvest limits have been the same for each of those years, we don't know that but bear with me. Now it would be interesting to know what impacted the success or relative failure of each season. High/low perch pops, good/bad weather, high/low demand, high/low cormorant pops, well, there's lots of possible variables. To me that's the real story tucked in here. Based on that, get ready for an off year in 2015......

Whites seem to have been steadily increasing in number with quite a jump last season. It will be interesting to see if that continues from where it finished or if you lose some ground due to the unusually high harvest. Again, it's hard to tell what drives this. Are numbers/availability simply increasing or have the fishermen discovered repeatable locations/methods for catching and developed a market to support all they do catch?

Yup, bring more data! Still a thought provoking start......

Good luck to all you Vermonters this year and stay safe!

[jbritch]

Yes, I agree, the two-year recovery phenomenon is the most interesting part of the story for me.  If that fails for whatever reason...  We need more data and more analysts.

[troutcrazy]

I agree you cant draw definite conclusions from it.  It would be interesting to come up with theories to explain the numbers, and then try to test those theories.

Are there more fishermen than there used to be?

Is white perch mania on this forum driving up the harvest numbers in 2014?      

Esox_xtm, the commercial fishery in VT isn't really regulated or limited, and there's no closed season.  It's not "companies" harvesting the fish-- it's individual hook-and-line fishermen selling to fishmongers.

[esox_xtm]

Esox_xtm, the commercial fishery in VT isn't really regulated or limited, and there's no closed season.  It's not "companies" harvesting the fish-- it's individual hook-and-line fishermen selling to fishmongers.

That is interesting. Here in WI it is illegal to sell your catch unless you are licensed. Of course we have a significant Great Lakes harvest so I'll guess that's what drives that.

White perch mania could be a factor. Some folks toss what they don't understand until they find it's accepted or there is demand somewhere.

I do process data as a living so this kinda draws me in....

[fishy1]

on the ny side of lake champlain very few fisherman who sell their fish target white perch anytime during the year due to the difference in price from the buyers. white perch are bought  at $.40 cents a lb for 8 and half inches and up i believe might even be bigger . then you have yellow perch over $1.00 a lb at 8 inches and sunfish at approx. $.85 a lb. at 6 inches. the buyer i know very rarely gets white perch from fisherman. i think the forums mania thing is a big driver on the ice and they are fun to catch. it would be interesting to see if the white perch being bought and sold is the heaviest during ice fishing.

[Lord_of_the_Perch]

I really don't think the white perch mania is as big as you think. The number of members on this forum is very small compared to the guys that are quietly selling huge numbers every day.

[flagfishon]

I would sell the whites if I caught enough to make it worth my while, but I eat all the yellows that I keep.  It didn't seem as though people were finding the white perch in the same numbers last season as they had in the past.  I know that a few had some great days.  I only caught a few that were mixed in with the yellows.  Never saw the schools of thousands like the year before.  I still remember seeing my flasher light up from 30 ft all the way up to my hole.  I wish we could get rid of them, but they are fun in numbers.

[fishy1]

I would sell the whites if I caught enough to make it worth my while, but I eat all the yellows that I keep.  It didn't seem as though people were finding the white perch in the same numbers last season as they had in the past.  I know that a few had some great days.  I only caught a few that were mixed in with the yellows.  Never saw the schools of thousands like the year before.  I still remember seeing my flasher light up from 30 ft all the way up to my hole.  I wish we could get rid of them, but they are fun in numbers.

agreed for the most part. just wish when i cant keep them off my lines they were bigger. they do a number on any baits you are using. i keep the badly hooked ones and fillet them and give them to people who can use the fish or like white perch. my family prefers yellows and sun fish.

[troutcrazy]

I was kind of joking when I suggested the forum as a cause for the increased white perch harvest.  But now that I think of it more, I'd bet Wmhunts caught 50,000 lbs out of St Albans bay!