“Honest pioneer work in the field of science has always been, and will continue to be, life’s pilot. On all sides, life is surrounded by hostility. This puts us under an obligation.”
- Wilhelm Reich
THE WALLEYE IN NEW JERSEY
SUMMARY
From to 1890 to 2021, I was able to document 35 examples of the walleye in New Jersey: 1 in the Delaware River in 1890, 1 in the Delaware River in 1905, 1 in Greenwood Lake in 1905, 1 in Lake Hopatcong in 1905, 1 in the Delaware River in 1952, 1 in the Passaic River in 1952, 1 in the lower Hudson River in 1952, 1 in the Delaware River in 1993, 11 in Shimer’s Brook on the middle Delaware River in 2002, 5 in Lake Hopatcong in 2017, 2 in a landlocked pond in Old Bridge in 2017, 5 in Lake Hopatcong in 2018, 1 in the Hackensack River in 2018, 1 in the lower Hudson River off Manhattan in 2018, 1 in Highland Lake in 2020, and 1 in Lake Hopatcong in 2021.
The USGS table for the species omits 27, or 77% of these 35 examples, namely the first an only New Jersey state record for the walleye from 1993, and 25 of the 26 of the examples of the walleye in New Jersey from 2017 through 2021.
ALL THE DATA
In 1890, in the absence of any walleye stocking there, the journal Geographical Survey of New Jersey published “Descriptive Catalog of the Vertebrates of New Jersey”, which documented the walleye in the Delaware River in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking in the Delaware River, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye stocking in the Delaware River in New Jersey proves that the USGS’s assertion that stocking was the source of the walleye there in 1890 is false.
The Geographical Survey of New Jersey’s data in 1890 proves that the USGS’s assertion that the walleye is non-indigenous to New Jersey is false.
In 1905, in the absence of any walleye stocking there, the Annual Report of the New Jersey State Museum published “The Fishes of New Jersey in Annual Report to the New Jersey State Museum”, by H. W. Fowler, in which the walleye was documented in the Delaware River in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking there, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway in New Jersey in 1905 to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye stocking in the Delware River in New Jersey proves that the USGS’s assertion that stocking was the source of the walleye there in 1905 is false.
The New Jersey State Museum’s annual report in 1905 proves that the USGS’s assertion that the walleye is non-indigenous to New Jersey is false.
From 2005 to 2017, the walleye is absent from the record in Greenwood Lake, New Jersey.
In 1905, in the absence of any walleye stocking there, the Annual Report of the New Jersey State Museum published “Fresh and salt water fish Found in the waters of New Jersey, Part I, by S.W. Morse, which documented the walleye in Greenwood Lake in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking there, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway in the Greenwood Lake in New Jersey in 1905 to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye stocking in Greenwood Lake in New Jersey proves that the USGS’s assertion that stocking was the source of the walleye in there in 1905 is false.
The New Jersey State Museum’s annual report in 1905 proves that the USGS’s assertion that the walleye is non-indigenous to New Jersey is false.
In 1905, in the absence of any walleye stocking there, the Annual Report of the New Jersey State Museum published “Fresh and salt water fish Found in the waters of New Jersey, Part I, by S.W. Morse, which documented the walleye in Greenwood Lake and in Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey.
The fact that there has never been any walleye stocking in Greenwood Lake or Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey proves that the USGS’s assertions that stocking was the source of the walleye there in 1905 are false.
The New Jersey State Museum’s annual report in 1905 proves that the USGS’s assertion that the walleye is non-indigenous to New Jersey is false.
In 1905, or soon after, the walleye disappeared from Greenwood Lake in New Jersey. It would remain absent for one hundred and twelve years, until it winked back into existence there in 2017. It would remain in existence there only briefly. In 2017, or soon after, the walleye disappeared from Greenwood Lake in New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
From 1952 to 2002, the walleye is absent from the record in New Jersey.
In 1952, in the absence of any walleye stocking there, the journal Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia published “A list of the fishes of New Jersey, with off-shore species, by H.W. Fowler, which documented the walleye in the Delaware River, Passaic River, and lower Hudson River in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking in any of those locations, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye stocking there proves that the USGS’s assertions that stocking was the source of the walleye in the Delaware River, Passaic River, and lower Hudson River in New Jersey in 1952 are false.
From 2002 to 2017, the walleye is absent from the record in New Jersey.
In 1993, George Fundell caught the current New Jersey state record walleye in the Delaware River. It weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces. There are no New Jersey state record walleye prior to 1993. The USGS table for the species does not include the first and only New Jersey state record walleye from 1993. Why?
On June 25, 2002, the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences collected 11 walleye in the Delaware in Shimers Brook on the Middle Delaware River in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking in any of those locations, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye there proves that the USGS’s assertions that stocking was the source of the walleye in the Delaware River in 2002 is false.
In 2017, the walleye winked back into existence simultaneously in New Jersey in Lake Hopatcong for the first time in one hundred twelve years, in Greenwood Lake for the first time in one hundred and twelve years, and into existence in a landlocked pond near Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township for the first time in history.
In 2017, after an absence of one hundred and twelve years, the walleye winked back into existence in Greenwood Lake, New Jersey. It would remain in existence there only briefly. In 2017, or soon after, the walleye disappeared from Greenwood Lake in New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
In 2017, the walleye winked back into existence in New Jersey simultaneously for the first time in one hundred and twelve years in Greenwood Lake and Lake Hopatcong, and winked into existence in a landlocked pond in Old Bridge, New Jersey for the first time in history.
In 2017, the walleye winked back into existence in Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey for the first time in 112 years. It would remain in existence there for just over two years. In 2019, or soon after, the walleye once again disappeared from Lake Hopatcong. It would remain absent for just over a year. In 2021, the walleye winked back into existence again in Lake Hopatcong. Then, in 2021, or shortly thereafter, the walleye disappeared from Lake Hopatcong, and remains absent to this day.
In 2017, there were eight examples of the walleye in New Jersey: 5 in Lake Hopatcong, 2 in a landlocked pond near Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township, and 1 in Greenwood Lake. None of these examples are present in the USGS table for the species.
On May 27, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 31, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Greenwood Lake in New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 1, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 6, 2017, fisherman.org documented two examples of the walleye in a landlocked pond near Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include these examples.
On June 29, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 30, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On October 15, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On November 5, 2017, fishermap.org documents a walleye in a landlocked pond near Raceway Park in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
In 2017, or soon after, after less than a year in existence there, the walleye disappeared from Greenwood Lake in New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
In 2018, fishermap.org documents seven examples of the walleye in New Jersey: 5 in Lake Hopatcong, 1 in the Hackensack River, and 1 in the lower Hudson River off Manhattan. None of these examples are present in the USGS table for the species.
On April 26, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in the Hackensack River, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On April 27, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 24, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 30, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 15, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 29, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 29, 2018, fishermap.org documents a walleye in the lower Hudson River off Manhattan. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
In 2019, there are ten documented examples of the walleye in New Jersey: 8 in Lake Hopatcong, and 2 in the Delaware River at Phillipsburg. The USGS table for the species omits 9 of 10, or 90% of these examples. The single example which they do include has a potential pathway of “stocked for sport”, directly in the face of the fact that there has never been any walleye stocking in Lake Hopatcong.
On March 19, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On March 20, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 12, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 13, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 20, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On May 22, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 5, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 7, 2019, the California Academy of Sciences iNaturalist.org documented an example of the walleye in Lake Hopatcong on the Musconetcong River in New Jersey.
Despite the complete absence of any walleye stocking there, the USGS nevertheless brazenly states the walleye’s potential pathway in Lake Hopatcong to be “stocked for sport”.
The fact that there has never been any walleye there proves that the USGS’s assertions that stocking was the source of the walleye in Lake Hopatcong in 2019 is false.
On June 12, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
On June 16, 2019, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
In 2019, or soon after, the walleye once again disappeared from Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. It would remain absent for just over a year. Then, in 2021, the walleye winked back into existence again in Lake Hopatcong. It would once again remain in existence there only briefly. In 2021, or shortly thereafter, the walleye disappeared from Lake Hopatcong, and remains absent to this day.
In 2020, the walleye winked into existence in Highland Lake, New Jersey for the first time in history. It would remain in existence there only briefly. In 2020, or shortly thereafter, the walleye disappeared from Highland Lake, New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
On May 4, 2020, fisherman.org documents a walleye in Highland Lake, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
In 2020, or shortly thereafter, the walleye disappeared from Highland Lake, New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
On January 14, 2021, fishermap.org documents a walleye in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. The USGS table for the species does not include this example.
From 2021 to this writing in 2023, the walleye is absent from the record in New Jersey.
In 2021, or shortly thereafter, the walleye disappeared from Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, and remains absent to this day.
