PORT CLINTON — While celebrating the 46th annual Governor’s Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day, Gov. Mike DeWine used it to remind the public of the H2Ohio program and his efforts to keep Lake Erie healthy.
“Fish Ohio Day is a chance to celebrate clean water, experience Lake Erie’s incredible fishery and strengthen partnerships that will keep our great lake healthy for generations,” DeWine said.
With the annual harmful algal bloom on the horizon, Lake Erie has been a top priority for DeWine’s administration with H2Ohio, an effort to improve water quality in Lake Erie and its tributaries.
“We have an obligation to preserve and protect Lake Erie, and that’s what we hope to do,” DeWine said. “We have great fishing on Lake Erie. It’s a place where people come to fish from all over the country, and all over the world, really. I talked to my captain, just a moment ago, and I asked him what percentage of your people come from out of the state? He said 80%. So, it’s a great attraction.
“When I became governor, I looked at this whole issue of the algae bloom on Lake Erie and what we had to do. We got the scientists together and really came up with a plan, and that’s what we now call H2Ohio.”
DeWine summarized H2Ohio as building wetlands, which act as natural filters, and reducing agricultural runoff in partnership with farmers.
“We have made great progress, but we have to continue to do this,” he said. “I hope the next governor and the next commissioner will stay committed to H2Ohio. It’s bipartisan, it’s had great support and it will continue to pay great, great dividends for the State of Ohio if we continue to do it.”
He and First Lady Fran DeWine celebrated Fish Ohio Day with Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz, Division of Wildlife Chief Kendra Wecker and other conservation and tourism leaders.
The H2Ohio initiative affects Lake Erie’s tributaries, which can have their own algal blooms, posing a hazard to fish, wildlife and people. The blue-green algae (also known as cyanobacteria) formed a bloom in the Sandusky River and Sandusky Bay in October 2025, blamed on low-flow conditions due to drought.
In 2014, The toxicity level of a harmful algal bloom shut down the Toledo water system for two days, affecting more than 400,000 people and causing an estimated $65 million economic loss. Almost 50,000 of those water customers were from northern Wood County, adjacent to Ottawa County. Lucas County also borders Ottawa County.
Participants in the festivities enjoyed walleye fishing on Lake Erie, thanks to 21 charter boat captains who donated their boats for use during the event.
Lake Erie is renowned as the Walleye Capital of the World and is a premier recreation destination. Ohio’s portion of the lake boasts the best walleye fishing in the country, which attracts some of the 1.7 million Ohio anglers.
While the rough Lake Erie waters brought in few catches on DeWine’s trip, the Division of Wildlife noted walleye hatch success has been well above average for seven of the last 10 years, including the three largest hatches ever surveyed. Anglers mostly catch two-to-six-year-old fish ranging from 15-24 inches.
Fish Ohio Day was started in 1979 by Governor James A. Rhodes to focus on conservation and management of the Lake Erie fishery.
Contact Roger LaPointe at 419-332-2674.
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: DeWine celebrates Lake Erie on 46th Governor’s Lake Erie Fish Ohio Day
Reporting by Roger LaPointe, Port Clinton News Herald / Port Clinton News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Roger LaPointe, Port Clinton News Herald | USA TODAY Network
