This fall the Cornell Biological Field Station at Shackelton Point in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be initiating a three-year telemetry study of adult walleyes in Oneida Lake to identify spawning sites, describe seasonal movement patterns, describe habitat use throughout the year, and determine where post-spawn walleye go after they have been processed at the Oneida Fish Hatchery.
Sixty-four acoustic receivers will be spaced throughout the lake and select tributaries to track the movement of 200 adult walleyes surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters.
Transmitters will send out a unique signal every four minutes and receivers in the vicinity will record the occurrence. Unless they leave the system, die naturally, or are caught by anglers, walleyes will be tracked year-round during the study.
Anglers who catch a walleye that has a transmitter, are asked to use thee contact information printed on the transmitter to return it.
Data from receivers are expected to be downloaded annually beginning in the summer of 2024.
This study is part of the GLATOS (Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System) network which gives us access to state-of-the-art analysis tools and expertise as well as inform us on fish tagged in Oneida Lake that may leave the system and enter the Great Lakes.
This new information on movements and habitat use of the Oneida Lake walleye population can help DEC better manage this fishery.
Photos, from above: Oneida Lake Walleye Telemetry Study acoustic receivers; and acoustic transmitters (provided by DEC).
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