SANDUSKY — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife has christened its new research vessel, the R/V Walleye, in Sandusky, the department announced this week. The christening took place Friday, Oct. 30, according to the ODNR announcement, which Firelands Current reported on Nov. 5 and The Outdoor Wire published on Nov. 3. The 55-foot aluminum-hull boat replaces the aging R/V Explorer at the Sandusky Fisheries Research Station.
The Walleye will survey fisheries in Lake Erie’s western basin, and ODNR said the new vessel will improve the division’s ability to survey safely and effectively. According to the department, the Walleye is more stable and maneuverable in Lake Erie’s challenging conditions than the Explorer it replaces, and it reduces noise and vibration for the biologists working aboard.
The vessel is powered by twin diesel engines and carries a hydraulic system for deploying and retrieving trawls and gill nets, according to the ODNR announcement published by The Outdoor Wire. Its transmission allows the slow towing speeds trawling requires, with cruising capability at just under 20 mph, and it is fitted with advanced navigation and sonar equipment and covered space for research work. Construction began in 2024 at Andersen Boat Works in Douglas, Michigan, ODNR said.
The work the boat supports is the backbone of Lake Erie fish management. Division research vessels run trawl, gill-net and acoustic surveys that feed interagency management of the lake’s sport fish and let Ohio work with neighboring jurisdictions to set sustainable annual harvest levels for walleye and yellow perch, according to ODNR. Crews monitor walleye, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and other sport fish for population abundance, growth, age, diet and health.
The stakes are considerable. Lake Erie is known as the Walleye Capital of the World, and ODNR cited a report by the Wildlife Management Institute, Responsive Management and Southwick Associates finding that anglers generated $5.5 billion in economic spending in Ohio in 2022 and that about 1.7 million Ohio adults — 18% — fish. The survey data the Walleye gathers will help determine how many of those fish can be harvested each year while keeping the populations healthy.
ODNR’s announcement did not give the vessel’s cost or a date for its first survey, Firelands Current noted, and NewsForce247 is not estimating either. What happens next is the transition at the Sandusky station: the Walleye enters service on the western basin’s survey rotation, and its trawl, gill-net and acoustic data will feed the next interagency setting of annual walleye and yellow perch harvest levels.