Some lakes in Cook County will have spear fishing allowed on them this spring, but just what lakes and how many walleye will be taken from them is still unknown.
The Fond du Lac of Lake Superior Chippewa recently announced that it will exercise its rights under the LaPointe Treaty of 1854 to allow its tribal members to spear walleye this spring in ceded territory lakes that lie in the Tip of the Arrowhead.
Fond du Lac spokesperson Ferdinand Martineau Jr., secretary/treasurer of the band, said as many as 80 tribal members have asked to fish in the ceded territory. Martineau said only smaller lakes would be targeted for spear fishing, and not large lakes like Saganaga or Lake Vermilion.
“The anticipated harvest is expected to be light,” said Joe Mix, DNR Assistant Regional Manager of Fisheries in Grand Rapids.
The official list of lakes and harvest numbers for those lakes hasn’t been released yet by Fond du Lac, said Mix, adding that the tribe is going through its final review process before submitting its plan to the state.
“They have been in consultation with us for some time, and so far it looks like the harvest levels are very conservative and not going to hurt the resource (lakes),” Mix said.
Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources fishery chief Don Pereira said the state will work with Fond du Lac to select lakes and quotas, adding that the state has no right to stop the spearing based upon treaty rights.
Only a maximum of two lakes per night will be open for fishing, and limits will be set based on the walleye population of those lakes, said Martineau.
There are over 2,500 lakes and nearly 5,600 miles of streams in the 1854 territory. Fond du Lac is working with the Boise Forte and Grand Portage bands and the state of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish safe harvestable quotas for each lake it plans to fish.
Once lakes have been identified, only Fond du Lac Band members will be allowed to fish and they will be required to get a Fond du Lac spearing permit. Permits will be valid for one day only and for one lake only with a daily limit set. A band conservation officer and biological monitoring team will be present at the landing to monitor the harvest and a Minnesota DNR biologist will cross-check the biological information.
The 1854 treaty was signed between the U.S. and Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, and Boise Forte bands. The bands ceded lands to the federal government in an exchange for hunting and fishing rights. In 1988, the state of Minnesota negotiated an out-of-court settlement with Fond du Lac, Boise Forte and Grand Portage over rights reserved in the 1854 Treaty, but Fond du Lac opted out of the agreement in 1989.
Under the current agreement Boise Forte and Grand Portage restrict their harvest of off-reservation game, fish, and wild rice in return for an annual payment from the state that is based on a formula tied to the revenue from hunting and fishing license sales.
Martineau said if 90 percent of the quota was reached on any of the lakes fished, Fond du Lac wouldn’t allow spearing on that lake in the following year.
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