STRONACH, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Conservationists, take note. The annual collection of steelhead eggs at the Little Manistee River weir in Stronach is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 15. The facility in Manistee County is open to the public for up-close viewing during egg-take operations.

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), steelhead provide one of Michigan’s premier sport fishing opportunities on the Great Lakes and in streams. Yearling steelhead produced through hatchery operations are stocked in select tributaries of all the Great Lakes.

MORE NEWS: Teens Now Need Parental OK to Livestream on Instagram, Meta Says

Since 1968, the Little Manistee River weir has served as the sole source of winter-run steelhead eggs for fish hatcheries in Michigan. It also serves as the main source for Ohio and Indiana. This year, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to collect 4.5 million eggs. Thompson State Fish Hatchery and Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery will receive 3.7 million of those eggs, while Ohio and Indiana will each receive 400,000 eggs.

Tentative spring steelhead egg take dates for this year are April 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23. Eggs will be taken each day between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the public is welcome to observe.

Click here for more information.