SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 16, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — As temperatures warm, wildlife officials have detailed the continuing efforts to keep the walleye out of Strawberry Reservoir after one was caught there in December.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) considers the offending species to be a threat to the trout and salmon fisheries established at the popular Wasatch County reservoir.
The division believes that someone illegally introduced the fish species, it announced this week online. Only the one walleye has been reported thus far, but the DWR is asking anglers to continue to report any that they may catch or see at Strawberry Reservoir.
The Utah-based Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever illegally introduced the walleye into Strawberry Reservoir, the DWR said.
“The ice just came off of Strawberry Reservoir recently, and we have started setting some shoreline walleye nets to monitor for any additional adult walleye that may be trying to spawn right now,” DWR Fisheries Biologist Alan Ward said.
“We have not caught or detected any walleye in our netting and monitoring efforts so far, but we plan to continue this activity for a few more weeks during the timeframe when the water temperatures are ideal for walleye spawning activity.
“We will also be collecting water samples to look for walleye DNA that may be present, if more walleye are indeed in Strawberry Reservoir.”
In addition to the current netting efforts, the DWR also plans to do some electrofishing surveys and spawning trap operations at Strawberry this spring to determine if any additional walleye remain in the reservoir.
“However, we are still asking anglers to report any walleye — or any other illegally introduced fish species — that they may catch at Strawberry Reservoir,” Ward said. “We’d like anglers to provide us with the fish and any information about the catch: the specific location of where it was caught, pictures of the catch, and the date and time.
“We are taking this illegal introduction very seriously, as walleye would undoubtedly negatively impact the trout and salmon fisheries we have established at the reservoir if they were to start reproducing.”
Strawberry Reservoir is a Blue Ribbon Fishery and provides some of Utah’s most exceptional, high-quality fishing experiences, the division said, noting each year the agency stocks cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon at Strawberry Reservoir.
“The Utah Anglers Coalition has been concerned about the practice of illegal fish introductions for many years, and we are deeply troubled about the recent report of a walleye caught at Strawberry Reservoir, one of Utah’s premier coldwater fisheries,” Utah Angler Coalition Chairman Roger Wilson said.
Anglers who catch any walleye at Strawberry Reservoir should immediately kill them and report it by:
- Calling DWR Central Region Aquatics Biologist Wes Pearce at 801-455-2010
- Emailing strawberryreservoir@utah.gov
