The walleye (''Sander vitreus'',
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater
perciform fish
Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means ...
native to most of Canada and to the
Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European
zander, also known as the pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the
blue walleye, which is a color morph that was once found in the southern
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
regions, but is now presumed extinct. However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply
phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification.
In parts of its range in English-speaking Canada, the walleye is known as a pickerel, though the fish is not related to the true
pickerels, which are members of the family ''
Esocidae
Esocidae is a family of fish in the order Esociformes, which contains pike, pickerel, and mudminnows. While the family traditionally only contained the genus '' Esox'', recent genetic and paleontological research have recovered '' Novumbra'' and ...
''.
Walleyes show a fair amount of variation across watersheds. In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds. The species has been
artificially propagated for over a century and has been planted on top of existing populations or introduced into waters naturally devoid of the species, sometimes reducing the overall genetic distinctiveness of populations.
Etymology
The name "walleye" comes from its pearlescent eyes caused by the reflective
tapetum lucidum which, in addition to allowing the fish to see well in low-light conditions, gives its eyes an opaque appearance. Their vision affects their behavior. They avoid bright light and feed in low light on fish that cannot see as well as they do. Many anglers look for walleyes at night since this is when major feeding efforts occur. The fish's eyes also allow them to see well in turbid waters (stained or rough, breaking waters), which gives them an advantage over their prey. Thus, walleye anglers commonly look for locations where a good "walleye chop" (i.e., rough water) occurs. Their vision also allows the fish to populate the deeper regions in a lake, and they can often be found in deeper water, particularly during the warmest part of the summer and at night.
Description
Walleyes are largely olive and gold in color (hence the French common name: ''doré''—golden). The dorsal side of a walleye is olive, grading into a golden hue on the flanks. The olive/gold pattern is broken up by five darker saddles that extend to the upper sides. The color shades to white on the belly. The mouth of a walleye is large and is armed with many sharp teeth. The first dorsal and anal fins are spinous, as is the
operculum. Walleyes are distinguished from their close relative the
sauger by the white coloration on the lower lobe of the caudal fin, which is absent on the sauger. In addition, the two dorsals and the caudal fin of the sauger are marked with distinctive rows of black dots which are absent from or indistinct on the same fins of walleyes.
Length and weight
Walleyes grow to about in length, and weigh up to about . The maximum recorded size for the fish is in length and in weight. The rate depends partly on where in their range they occur, with southern populations often growing faster and larger. In general, females grow larger than males. Walleyes may live for decades; the maximum recorded age is 29 years. In heavily fished populations, however, few walleye older than five or six years of age are encountered. In North America, where they are highly prized, their typical size when caught is on the order of , substantially below their potential size.
As walleye grow longer, they increase in weight. The relationship between total length (''L'') and total weight (''W'') for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form
:
Invariably, ''b'' is close to 3.0 for all species, and ''c'' is a constant that varies among species. For walleye, ''b'' = 3.180 and ''c'' = 0.000228 (with units in inches and pounds) or ''b'' = 3.180 and ''c'' = 0.000005337 (with units in cm and kg).
This relationship suggests a walleye will weigh about , while a walleye will likely weigh about .
Population dynamics
The
Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery at Garrison Dam,
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
, is the largest walleye hatchery in the world. Although they are in high demand for fishing and consumption in North Dakota, elsewhere they are considered a nuisance. For that reason GDNFH is also researching hormonal population control to provide control options to other areas.
Reproduction
In most of the species' range, male walleyes mature sexually between three and four years of age. Females normally mature about a year later. Adults migrate to tributary streams in late winter or early spring to lay eggs over gravel and rock, although open-water
reef or shoal-spawning strains are seen, as well. Some populations are known to spawn on sand or vegetation. Spawning occurs at water temperatures of . A large female can lay up to 500,000 eggs, and no care is given by the parents to the eggs or fry. The eggs are slightly adhesive and fall into spaces between rocks. The incubation period for the
embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
s is temperature-dependent, but generally lasts from 12 to 30 days. After hatching, the free-swimming embryos spend about a week absorbing a relatively small amount of
yolk
Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...
. Once the yolk has been fully absorbed, the young walleyes begin to feed on
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s, such as
fly larvæ and
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
. After 40 to 60 days,
juvenile
Juvenile may refer to:
*Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood
*Juvenile (organism)
*Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper
* ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film
* ''Juvenile'' (2017 film)
*Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...
walleyes become
piscivorous. Thenceforth, both juvenile and
adult
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of ...
walleyes eat fish almost exclusively, frequently
yellow perch or
ciscoes, moving onto bars and shoals at night to feed. Walleye also feed heavily on crayfish, minnows, and leeches.
Taxonomy
The walleye is part of the North American
clade within the genus ''
Sander'', alongside the
sauger (''S. canadensis''). Hubbs
described a taxon called the
blue walleye (''S. glaucus'') from the Great Lakes but subsequent taxonomic work showed no consistent differences between this form and the "yellow" walleye and the blue walleye is now considered to be a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
and color variant of the walleye.
The walleye was first formally described by the
American naturalist Samuel Latham Mitchill (1764-1831) with the
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
given as
Cayuga Lake near
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County, New York, Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca m ...
.
As food
The walleye is considered to be a quite palatable
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...
fish, and consequently, is fished
recreationally and
commercially for food.
Because of its nocturnal feeding habits, it is most easily caught at night using live minnows or lures that mimic small fish. Most commercial fisheries for walleye are situated in the Canadian waters of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...
, and fried walleye is considered a staple of
Canadian cuisine. In
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
, the walleye is often fished for in the late afternoon on windy days (known as a "walleye chop") or at night. Often served as a sandwich in Minnesota's pubs where the fish is very popular, deep fried walleye on a stick is a
Minnesota State Fair food.
Fishing
Because walleyes are popular with anglers,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
for walleyes is regulated by most natural resource agencies.
Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
may include the use of quotas and length limits to ensure that populations are not
overexploited. For example, in
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, walleyes shorter than may not be legally kept.
Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low illumination levels, they tend to feed more extensively at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days, and under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. Although anglers interpret this as light avoidance, it is merely an expression of the walleyes' competitive advantage over their prey under those conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or
turbid waters, walleyes tend to feed throughout the day. In the spring and fall, walleyes are located near the shallower areas due to the spawning grounds, and they are most often located in shallower areas during higher winds due to the murkier, higher oxygenated water at around six feet deep. On calm spring days, walleyes are more often located at the deep side of the shoreline drop-off and around shore slopes around or deeper than 10 feet.
As a result of their widespread presence in Canada and the northern United States, walleyes are frequently caught while
ice fishing, a popular winter pastime throughout those regions.
"Walleye chop" is a term used by walleye
anglers for rough water typically with winds of , and is one of the indicators for good walleye fishing due to the walleyes' increased feeding activity during such conditions. In addition to fishing this chop, night fishing with live bait can be very effective.
The current all-tackle world record for a walleye is held by Mabry Harper, who caught an 11.34-kg (25-lb) walleye in Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee on 2 August 1960.
Cultural aspects
Walleye is a culturally significant food in the
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referrin ...
.
[Makenzie Huber]
Why walleye? How this flaky fish became a South Dakota food favorite
''Argus Leader'' (August 28, 2019). Walleye is popular in Minnesota; the
Minnesota Legislature declared walleye the official
state fish in 1965. Three towns—
Garrison, Minnesota,
Baudette, Minnesota, and
Garrison, North Dakotas—each claim to be the "Walleye Capital of the World" and a large statue of the fish is erected in each town. Walleye pike was declared the official "state warm water fish" of
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...
in 2012. (Vermont's official "state cold water fish" is the
brook trout, ''salvelinus fontinalis''.)
South Dakota designated the walleye as its official state fish in 1982.
[ Although the fish is native to South Dakota, living in Missouri River reservoirs and eastern glacial lakes of the state, it only became a popular food in South Dakota in 1970s and 1980s, when the fishing tournament circuit promoted the fish and operated walleye fishing contests in the state.][
The walleye is the official provincial fish of ]Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
. Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
, Manitoba, considers the walleye (referred to locally as "pickerel") its most important local fish.[ Icelandic fishermen in Lake Winnipeg traditionally supplied the Winnipeg market.] The walleye is also the provincial fish of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...
, which declared the species its official fish in 2015 after it won a fish emblem contest. Walleye is the most popular fish for sport fishing in Saskatchewan, and can be caught in many rivers, reservoirs, and lakes.[Michael Snook, ''Fishing Saskatchewan: An Angler's Guide to Provincial Waters'' (University of Regina Press: 2004), pp. 101-03.] The International Underwater Spearfishing Association record for largest spearfishing-caught walleye is held by a 13.3-pound walleye caught in 2014 on the South Saskatchewan River north of Lake Diefenbaker.[
]
See also
*Wisconsin Walleye War
The Wisconsin Walleye War became the name for late 20th-century events in Wisconsin in protest of Ojibwe hunting and fishing rights. In a 1975 case, the tribes challenged state efforts to regulate their hunting and fishing off the reservations, bas ...
References
Further reading
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External links
Small 2010 Lake Erie walleye hatch predicted
{{Authority control
Sander (fish)
Fish described in 1818
Taxa named by Samuel L. Mitchill
Commercial fish
Sport fish
Freshwater fish of North America
Fish of Canada
Fish of the United States
Fish of the Great Lakes
Symbols of Vermont
Symbols of Minnesota
Symbols of South Dakota
Cuisine of Minnesota
Cuisine of Manitoba