Anglers and commercial fishers on Lake Superior will face a smaller lake trout harvest next season. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approved a 15% reduction for management zone WI-2, the Apostle Islands area, following a recommendation from the Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR says the lake trout population in that zone has fallen about 36% from 2020 to 2025, from roughly 835,000 fish to about 530,000, its lowest level in 30 years. The population peaked at about 930,000 fish in 2002.

Fisheries supervisor Brad Ray attributed the decline mainly to poor recruitment and higher predation by sea lampreys. Lamprey numbers rose after some tributary treatments were missed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and wounding rates on lake trout in 2024, 2025 and 2026 were more than twice the target of five wounds per 100 fish.

The new total allowable catch for WI-2 will be 57,000 lake trout when the 2027 season opens Nov. 28, 2026. The state allocation is 17,500 fish, split between 5,830 commercial and 11,670 recreational, a 22% reduction, while the tribal allocation is 39,500 fish, an 11% cut. The neighboring WI-1 zone stays at 14,000 fish.

The DNR manages the fishery cooperatively with the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa under the 2018-2028 Lake Superior Fishing Agreement, and quotas are normally updated on a three-year cycle. Ray said the quota could be revisited sooner if lamprey numbers and the trout decline continue.