Tariff Uncertainties Put Lake Erie's Walleye Supply in Choppy Water, Cleveland Restaurateurs Say

From Toledo to Conneaut, there’s nothing like walleye in the summer on the shores of Lake Erie. It’s local, it tastes great, and it’s sustainable.

“Walleye is generally our number one seller or close to it, especially in the summer,” says Regan Reik, the general manager of Pier W in Lakewood. “Walleye’s the one fish we always have on the menu.”

Buying seafood can be an adventure (there’s a reason restaurants will put “market price” on their menu), but this year, there’s an added wrinkle: Tariffs.

Although there are charters aplenty in Ohio to go out on the lake for some recreational fishing, the walleye found in stores and restaurants comes almost exclusively from Canada. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement , passed in 2020 to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement ,