Determining local spawning stock contributions to Lake Erie’s Walleye

We are working to identify “natural tags” that can be used to identify the natal origins of individual Walleye that survive to adulthood and Lake Erie’s fisheries. We are developing the use of genetic and micro-chemical markers as tools to help discriminate among local spawning populations and inform the management of this economically and culturally important species. Pictured is an otolith being ablated by a laser under a microscope.