Rep. Brennan Announces Passage of HB 599 by Ohio House of Representatives

COLUMBUS – State Reps. Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Parma) and D.J. Swearingen’s (R-Huron) bill, House Bill (HB) 599, has passed the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee unanimously and passed the Ohio House of Representatives with a 93-4 vote.

This bipartisan legislation will designate the walleye as the official fish of the state of Ohio.

Our great state has an official fossilized fish, fossil, mammal, insect, bird, fruit, beverage, etc., but we are one of only three states, including Indiana and Iowa, that does not have an official state fish, despite the fact that the National Wildlife Federation for years has considered the walleye the unofficial fish of Ohio. In fact, the Buckeye state is already well known as the walleye capital of the world.

“The idea for this bill spawned when Matthew Kowaleski – a resident in my district – contacted me to let me know that Ohio does not have a state fish and that the walleye should be it,” said Rep. Brennan, famous for his dad jokes, quipped. “The walleye is responsible for about $1 billion in economic activity in our state, is the fish that nets the most charter boats in Ohio, and the Ohio Walleye Trail is the draw of about half of the one million anglers in our state. Walleye I cannot think of another that would be better fit to be the official fish of the state; to consider any other fish is a red herring.”

Further, according to the Ohio Division of Wildlife, there are 95M walleye in Lake Erie at least 2 years or older, ready to be caught and kept.  In comparison, there are roughly 600,000 white-tailed deer – our state mammal - across Ohio. Thus, there is close to 158 times more walleye in Lake Erie than there are deer in Ohio.

HB 599 now swims over to the Senate for consideration.