At times, the blue pike made up more than 50 percent of the commercial catch in Lake Erie.At the same time the fishing industry was growing in the Great Lakes, the number of Euroamerican settlers in the region was increasing as well. Should this kind of fishing be considered sport fishing or commercial fishing? These contributed to the decline of the blue pike through predation and competition.The population crashed in 1958, but the blue pike lingered on until it became extinct in 1970.In the same general time period, three other species of fish endemic to the Great Lakes also disappeared. The blue pike was an endemic fish of the Great Lakes region in the United States and Canada. The Division of Wildlife studies and manages fish and wildlife populations and enforces hunting and fishing laws. Bass Islands in the fall and winter Blue Pike were extremely important to the Lake Erie commercial fishing industry. Blue whale, (Balaenoptera musculus), also called sulfur-bottom whale, the most massive animal ever to have lived, a species of baleen whale that weighs approximately 150 tons and may attain a length of more than 30 metres (98 feet). In my opinion the main reason for the demise of the Blue Pike was a major shift in the Habitat of the great lakes and the introduction of exotics species by our own Fisheries department. Blue pike habitat consisted of the clearer areas of Lake Erie, mainly in the eastern two-thirds of the lake. Blue pike habitat consisted of the clearer areas of Lake Erie, mainly in the eastern two-thirds of the lake. Once commonly found in the waters of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Niagara River the blue pike preferred cool, clear and deep water in summer, and switching to nearshore waters as they cooled and became less murky in the winter.The blue pike was pursued intensely by commercial and sport fishers, who together landed a billion pounds of the fish between 1885 and 1962. Morphometric studies led biologists to classify the blue walleye as a separate species in 1926, although it was later downgraded to a subspecies.
SIZE: Common length for bluegill is 19.1 cm (7.5 inches) with the maximum reported length being 41 cm (16 inches). But in 1975 the blue pike was declared extinct after years of extensive fishing and pollution made it disappear from the Great Lakes region, its only known habitat. Map Courtesy of USGS – Click through image for more detail . In 1959, catch numbers dropped to only 79,000 pounds. In 1977, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed them as endangered in the United States. Walleye are distributed across a wide swath of North America, from the Arctic down through most of Canada to the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes.
Once commonly found in the waters of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the Niagara River the blue pike preferred cool, clear and deep water in summer, and switching to nearshore waters as they cooled and became less murky in the winter.
The commercial catch in 1885 was 3,152,400 pounds. During the 1950's-60's the Great Lakes were as dirty and turbid as they have ever been. holarctic in distribution). The blue pike has been considered extinctThe blue walleye (Sander vitreus glaucus), erroneously called the blue pike, was a subspecies of the walleye that went extinct in the 1980s. The annual catch for all U.S. and Canadian ports between 1950 and 1957 ranged from 2,000,000 to 26,000,000 pounds. The northern pike (Esox lucius) is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox (the pikes). The commercial catch in 1885 was 3,152,400 pounds. Similar statistics occurred in the United States wherever there were blue pike. The blue pike was an endemic fish of the Great Lakes region in the United States and Canada. During the 1900s, several non-native species of fish were introduced to the Great Lakes, including the sea lamprey, alewife, and rainbow smelt. Bluegill can compete for food and habitat with native fishes.
In 1964, fish dealers sold less than 200 pounds of blue pike. These were the deepwater cisco (C. johannae) in the 1950’s, native to Lake Huron and Lake Michigan; the blackfin cisco (Coregonus nigripinnis) in the 1960s, native to all of the Lakes except Erie; and the longjaw cisco (C. alpenae) in the 1970’s, native to Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan.Each of these species succumbed to the cumulative effects of overexploitation by fishers, pollution, siltation and other forms of habitat degradation due to development, and predation and competition from non-native species.Cumulative effects can be difficult to predict and measure. Years of commercial fishing had taken their toll. Bass Islands in the fall and winter Blue Pike were extremely important to the Lake Erie commercial fishing industry. The blue walleye (Sander vitreus vitreus), also called the blue pike, was a unique color morph (formerly considered a subspecies) of walleye which was endemic to the Great Lakes of North America.