Muskellunge Management: Fifty Years of Cooperation Among Anglers, Scientists, and Fisheries Biologists

Population Genomics towards Optimizing Muskellunge Management and Conservation in Québec, Canada [Extended Abstract]

Anne Carrier, Anne-Laure Ferchaud, and Jérémy Le Luyer, Daniel Hatin, John M. Farrell, Philippe Brodeur, and Louis Bernatchez

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874462.ch38

Management of Muskellunge Esox masquinongy through most of its natural range has benefited from contemporary ecological and genetic insights, but such information is still lacking in Québec (Canada). Since 2010, the Ministry of Forest, Wildlife and Parks of Québec has collaborated with anglers and international scientists to gather contemporary information related to stock status, recruitment, habitat use, movement, and genomic structure of Muskellunge. Additionally, gray literature was examined to summarize historical records of extensive stockings that occurred from 1950 to 1997. These stockings were intended to support an existing recreational fishery and create new fishing opportunities. The whole approach aimed to optimize Muskellunge management in Québec.