• News
  • Lake Facts
  • About

Lake Scientist

Lake Erie: the walleye capital

0
  • by Dave Hochanadel
  • — August 16, 2010

Lake Erie is the shallowest and smallest (by volume) of the Great Lakes. Its average depth is 62 feet, with a maximum depth of 210 feet. The lake is also home to one of the world’s largest freshwater commercial fisheries and deemed the “walleye capital of the world.”

This water quality monitoring buoy will help biologists study changes in walleye populations in Lake Erie. The lake is known by many as the “walleye capital of the world.”

This water quality monitoring buoy will help biologists study changes in walleye populations in Lake Erie. The lake is known by many as the “walleye capital of the world.”

Indeed it was the significance of the lake’s walleye that brought us to Lake Erie earlier this summer. We visited the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Sandusky Fish Research Unit to help install a water quality monitoring buoy that will allow biologists to study factors that influence changes in walleye population. Declining walleye hatch sizes are among the concerns researchers have for Lake Erie, which had for decades been on the mend from its worst conditions in the 1960s and 70s.

Lake Erie is perhaps most notoriously remembered as having been a “dead lake” during that era. The lake’s drainage basin covers 30,140 square miles, and much of this land is used for agriculture. Excess phosphorus runoff from fertilizer used on farmland and other sources inundated the lake, leading to eutrophication. This nutrient loading resulted in algal blooms, which consumed dissolved oxygen and made the water inhospitable to other aquatic life.

The lake was very much connected to the environmental reform of the ‘70s. In fact, the Cuyahoga River, which horrifically caught on fire and inspired the formation of the Clean Water Act, is a tributary of the lake. The river had become so saturated with industrial pollutants, it was flammable. The story of this river having burst into flames incensed conservationists and legislators, and it inspired significant environmental reform.

The Clean Water Act put major widespread pollution controls into place that significantly benefited Lake Erie. Additionally, the 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada also aided in controlling pollution entering the lake. Input levels from both point and non-point source pollution of phosphorus and other harmful chemicals started to fall, and water quality improved.

Erie is no longer a “dead lake,” but a dead zone — a hypoxic area devoid of dissolved oxygen — persistently appears in its central basin during late summer. The algal blooms have also been returning in recent years, and they are worsening the dead zone. In fact, 2010 could have some of the largest blue-green algal blooms, thanks to higher-than-usual water temperatures, increased phosphorus runoff, and a rising number of sewage overflows into the lake’s water.

Share

You may also like...

  • Ohio Sea Grant releases Spring – Summer 2010 edition of Twine Line
  • Climate change could worsen Ohio’s blue-green algae problem, increase floods
  • The summit of Gokyo Ri. Ngozumpa glacier, the largest and longest glacier in the Himalayas, is right below, along with commanding views over nearby Cholatse, Taboche, Kangtega, Thamserku and other peaks. Gokyo Ri, Gokyo Lake, Nepal, Himalayas. Research Brief: Early Warning Systems in Himalayan Glacial Lakes
  • ODNR studies water current’s influence on walleye hatch with Lake Erie buoy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

BUY AT FONDRIEST.COM
New NexSens XB200 Data Buoy
  • Recent Posts

    • Honghu Lake which was the study site for the endogenous pollution study.Research Brief: Understanding the Negative Impacts of Endogenous Nutrient Releases in a Shallow LakeJuly 7, 2025
    • From Paddles to Phytoplankton: Studying Vermont’s Wildest LakesJuly 7, 2025
    • Monitoring New Hampshire’s Aquatic Ecosystems: Continuous Data Collection in the Lamprey River WatershedJune 30, 2025
    • Sign indicating an "idle speed" or "o-wake zone for boaters on the St. Johns River in Astor, Florida, USA.Research Brief: Evaluating the Efficacy of No-Wake Zone PoliciesJune 30, 2025
    • Eddy covariance sensors on top of tripod.Research Brief: Measuring Lake Superior Evaporation with an Eddy Covariance System at Stannard Rock LighthouseJune 23, 2025
  • Popular Tags

    Great Lakes research summary research research brief pollution Lake Erie Algae invasive species Product Spotlight lake research lake science climate change runoff nutrient-loading Lake Michigan dissolved oxygen international temperature Ohio eutrophication EPA toxic waters ice phosphorus blue-green algae

©2025 Fondriest Environmental Inc. | Questions? Call 888.426.2151 or email customercare@fondriest.com