Gary Barnard retired in 2019 as Department of Natural Resources area fisheries supervisor in Bemidji, ending a 43-year DNR career. In this interview he says he disagrees with a legislative proposal to cut the statewide walleye limit from six to four, and says many other DNR fisheries professionals oppose it, also. DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen's office, however, supports the idea.
Q Lost in the discussion of reducing the statewide walleye limit from six to four is that fishing generally is very good in Minnesota and has been for a number of years.
A I agree. I don't know, in fact, what the problem is we're trying to fix with the proposed walleye-limit reduction. With walleyes, for example, if reduced abundance is detected in a given lake, or perhaps smaller-size fish, a rational discussion ensues about how to address the problem. Then a management plan is developed using tools we have available, including stocking or perhaps imposition of a slot limit or even a limit reduction. None of that has happened because no statewide walleye "problem'' has been identified.
