Odanah, WI — May 8, 2026 — Announcing Walleye In Our Hands, an effort to empower recreational anglers to better protect walleye. This collaborative effort between Keep Fish Wet, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, USGS, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and artist and fishing guide Bri Dostie highlights how people can safely play, handle, release a walleye to improve its chances of survival after it swims away.
Across the Midwest, walleye populations are in decline. Recovering populations will require large-scale efforts to address the many threats they face. One thing we as anglers can control immediately and directly is the unintentional mortality and impacts caused by catch-and-release practices.
“How you interact with walleye today will influence whether they are here tomorrow”, says Aaron Shultz, Research Fisheries Biologist, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. “Walleye in Our Hands provides evidence-based, practical information to the angling community on how to improve their relationship with walleye. “
“Through this collaboration, anglers across the Midwest gain tools to put conservation into action”, says Sascha Clark Danylchuk, Executive Director of Keep Fish Wet. “While many anglers like to keep walleye, we also want to make sure that those fish that are released, either voluntarily or because of regulations, have the best chance of survival possible.”
“Creating visuals to help illustrate this important information is an honor, and an invitation for those reading to take conservation into their own hands — and share it!” says Bri Dostie.
The Walleye In Our Hands infographic is available as an open resource for anglers, guides, tackle shops, natural resource agencies, tribes, and the fishing community to use to help steward walleye resources.
More information can be found at www.keepfishwet.org/walleye-in-our-hands