Minnesota, Red Lake tribe sign new fishery pact

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota and the Red Lake Nation have signed a new five-year agreement on maintaining the health of the fishery in Upper and Lower Red Lake.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says the pact was signed Thursday in Red Lake, and closely parallels a 1999-2009 pact that helped restore high-quality walleye fishing to the big northern lake.

DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten says the old agreement worked well. He notes that anglers have caught more than 1.1 million pounds of walleye since the lake reopened to fishing in 2006. The fishery had collapsed in the mid-1990s due to overfishing.

Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. says the Red Lake Band is committed to ensuring that the lake’s walleye are managed sustainably.