Discussing the environmental impacts of zero lake ice

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Back in mid-January, the cold snap we saw did see some ice development in Lake Erie, but now ice coverage is at 0%.

Typically, mid-February is when ice coverage peaks in Lake Erie, but this year there was none to be found on Valentine’s Day. Any white you see over the lake was just clouds. This trend has been observed across the entire great lakes region this winter, with total ice coverage across all five lakes at only 4%. That number is a record low since ice coverage tracking began back in 1973.

The lack of ice is due to the mild winter in the Midwest, fueled in part by El Nino. It’s been a frustrating season for ice fishermen, but experts aren’t too worried about the spring fish spawn.

“Ice cover is generally considered a good thing for Walleye and Yellow Perch spawning, but we’ve certainly had years where we didn’t have good ice cover and we had good hatches,” said Tory Gabriel, Ohio SEA Grant Extension program leader. “Just last year we didn’t have great ice cover, and it turns out that based on Division of Wildlife data, that was one of the better hatches we’ve had in the last 30 years.”

Right now, walleye and yellow perch populations are doing very well in the western basin of Lake Erie. So, even if there is a smaller hatch, it won’t have much of an impact.

Ice coverage and colder water are beneficial because they make the fish healthier, which in turn usually means healthier eggs in the spring.

“It acts kind of like a shield,” said Gabriel. “So, when winter storms blow over you get less wave action, which messes with the habitat less, it kicks up the sediment on the bottom less… and that’s all generally good stuff for the things living in Lake Erie.”

A lack of ice can also lead to more coastal erosion.

“Once the ice sets in and we get that good, shore-fast ice, from a Corps of Engineers shoreline perspective, that’s pretty much when we stop worrying about erosion until winter lets up and it starts to melt away,” said Weston Cross, Geologist with the Army Corp of Engineers. “We get those really big blows in January and February, but if that ice is locked right in, you don’t see that wave action because it can’t form on the ice, and you don’t see the seiche effects.”

Another potential impact from the lack of ice is an increased risk of harmful algal blooms. Those blooms require warm water to get going and if the ice doesn’t last as long, then the lake water is able to heat up faster in the spring.

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