Fish and fisheries in Oneida Lake

Zoe Almeida, Tony VanDeValk, Tom Brooking, Nikki Saavedra, Jake VanDeValk, Cameron Davis, Randy Jackson, Lars Rudstam, interns (Funded by NYSDEC) 

Studies of the fisheries of Oneida Lake were initiated in 1956 by the station’s first director Dr. John Forney as an assessment of the lake’s important walleye, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch fisheries. The program has enjoyed continuous funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for over 65 years and has expanded to lower trophic levels representing a true ecosystem approach to understanding the dynamics of the lake’s fish community and fisheries (see below for limnological studies). Ongoing studies on Oneida Lake include detailed studies of walleye, yellow perch, and white perch from larval to adult life stages, assessment of offshore and inshore fish community composition, pelagic fish abundance (shad, shiners), double-crested cormorant consumption of fish, lake sturgeon restoration efforts and annual creel surveys. Oneida Lake is the state’s third most heavily fished lake, and data collected by Field Station staff provide timely information to NYSDEC managers to ensure sustainable fishing opportunities, particularly for walleye, yellow perch and black bass. The data series has also allowed important insights into the response of the fishery and the ecosystem to perturbations such as establishment of exotic species and climate change. We documented fundamental shifts in fish community composition resulting from increases in water clarity associated with zebra mussels. The double-crested cormorant had profound impacts on walleye and yellow perch, and our studies of these impacts have informed cormorant management throughout their range. Warming water temperatures may be contributing to increased production of black bass, sunfish, gizzard shad and other species near the northern extent of their range. The round goby became established in the lake in 2014 and densities remained high through 2023.  Gobies appeared in the diets of most of our more common fish species and were also consumed by cormorants.  We will continue to assess the impacts of the round goby on the lake’s fish and fisheries in the upcoming years. Bythotrephes longimanus, the spiny water flea, is another new invader that arrived in 2019 and is a common food item of both young and older yellow perch and white perch. The burrowing mayfly (Hexagenia sp.) returned in the early 2010s after having been absent from our sampling since 1969 and is increasingly important in fish diets. Walleye continue to be the most popular sport fish in Oneida Lake.  Adult walleye abundance is currently at the long-term mean of around 600,000 fish. A 3-year acoustic telemetry study of adult walleye was initiated in 2023 and should provide new insight into the movements and habitat use of adult walleye in Oneida Lake.  Bass also provide a popular fishery, and typically account for 25-30% of the targeted angling effort.  However, smallmouth bass numbers have seen a decline in recent years and the timing of this decline was coincident with the arrival of gobies.  This decline will be a focus of Almeida’s research  for the next several years.  Angler catch rates for both walleye and smallmouth bass are considered to be very good.  As Oneida Lake has changed, so too has the fish community and the fishery, and our studies continue to expand our efforts to understand the dynamics of this economically important resource.