The datasets here were used to examine relationships between the overall productivity of Lake Erie and the commercial harvest of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), walleye (Sander vitreus), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) during 1915–2011. Here, we provide the two datasets used in the paper by Sinclair et al. titled "Eutrophication, water quality, and fisheries: a wicked management problem with insights from a century of change in Lake Erie". Each dataset is provided as a separate tab in a single Excel worksheet. The first dataset ("Productivity") provides the annual values of the five metrics used to develop the index of overall Lake Erie productivity. The second dataset ("Commercial harvest") provides the total annual commercial harvest (kg) of the three fish species, which were obtained from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (http://www.glfc.org/great-lakes-databases.php). A summary and explanation of each variable is provided in the "Info" tab. Further information on how values were calculated (and transformed if necessary) is provided in either the info tab or the methods and supporting information of the associated article.

Please refer to the associated article for data collection methods and information on variable transformations.

Any spreadsheet software that can open ".xlsx" formats (e.g., Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets).