The Walleye hatchery near Cold Lake worked well as a Walleye re-stocking and enhancement source for the short time it was running. They had a disease problem in the Hatchery and it was permanently shut down. That hatchery alone was a stop- gap reaction to a problem that had been growing for a number of years prior (since about 1970). Alberta seems to have simply too few suitable water bodies and too many annual angler/hours to sustain a viable fishery of any type.
I haven't been involved with the Alberta fishery for over 25 years now but what I can say is that the population structure studies undertaken for a short time by the Western Walleye Council on popular Lakes that held viable Walleye populations at the time, were very informative and may have made the difference.. if they had continued. The current situation is going to be hard to overcome unless a large amount of money becomes available rather quickly. Hope for the best as far as any future retention goes. Just my take over a long timeline.
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When applied by competent people with the right intent, common sense goes a long way.
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