Minnesota Anglers Encouraged to Keep Small Panfish, Release Large Ones
Minnesota anglers harvest around 16 million sunfish each year, making them the state’s most harvested fish. To protect big sunfish and avoid stunted populations of sunfish, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is encouraging anglers to release large sunfish, and keep smaller fish for eating.
Sunfish spawn in large nesting colonies during the spring and early summer. Parental male sunfish build and defend nests. Females will select a male, lay eggs, and leave them for the male to protect and fan with his fins. These nest-building male sunfish play an important role in repopulation with the largest sunfish often getting the best spawning sites.
When anglers keep only the largest sunfish, which are usually males guarding nests, the remaining small males don’t need to compete with larger males to spawn. Instead of growing, they devote their energy to spawning at younger ages and smaller sizes. Read more