Post-stocking survivorship and diet of Age-1 Cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Lake Erie, May 2025

Lake Erie historically supported a large population of Cisco (Coregonus artedi) which provided an important fisheries resource. The Cisco population declined precipitously in the 1920s and by the 1960s the species was considered extirpated from the lake. In May of 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation experimentally released age-1 Cisco into Lake Erie to evaluate potential impediments to restoring the population. This dataset includes post-stocking survivorship for Cisco released into net pens in Lake Erie, and from positive and negative controls in hatchery environments at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science and Allegheny National Fish Hatchery. Survivorship was measured on day 3 and day 10 in both the lake and hatchery to evaluate potential survival effects due to the net pens or transport and release related mortality. Zooplankton abundance in the Lake Erie net pens and stomach contents from the penned Lake Erie Cisco were also collected to examine what potential prey items were available and whether feeding on natural prey had occurred. Details about the gear descriptions, sampling protocols, and processing protocols are provided in the associated metadata.