LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it will consider increasing the Chinook salmon population in Lake Michigan and will host a virtual meeting for public input.
The DNR will host a meeting on September 19 from 7 until 8:30 pm to hear public opinion.
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“We have seen several years of good Chinook salmon growth and have a slight increase in the alewife biomass, or abundance of those fish,” said Jay Wesley, the DNR’s Lake Michigan basin coordinator. “Although the alewife biomass is a fraction of what it was historically, we have a good 2021-year class and have seen up to six-year classes of alewives in our fisheries surveys – that means there are up to six different age groups in the current population of alewife.”
Alewife, or Alosa pseudoharengus, are non-native species to the Great Lakes that have affected the natural ecosystems. With the introduction of salmon stockings since the 1900s, their populations have been more regulated.
According to Wesley, the proposed 54% increase from 650,000 to 1 million spring fingerlings is a small increase when compared to the estimated 4.5 million wild Chinook salmon already in Lake Michigan. By increasing the overall population, the DNR can raise numbers at sites like Charlevoix and reinstate stocking sites like Ludington State Park and Fairport.
A DNR document detailing fishery decisions explains why lakes are not always restocked frequently.
“Muskellunge [Muskie] are usually stocked in October while Chinook salmon are stocked after only six months, but other trout and salmon species are reared for 12 to 16 months before they are sent on their way,” DNR Fish Production Manager Ed Eisch said.
The last Chinook fish stocking took place in Presque Isle on June 1 and roughly 315,000 fish were released into Swan River.
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In order to join the Zoom with the DNR and Michigan Sea Grant, participants must use the password and can join by telephone or app.
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