DNR seeks comments on Lake Michigan Fisheries Management plan
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EmailNovember meetings in Manistique, Traverse City, and Grand Haven to share details and solicit input on proposed plan.
Fishing in Lake Michigan has had its share of ups and downs. A steady stream of invasive species led to several big changes in the lake. Sea lamprey destroyed the lake trout fishery in the late 1940s, leaving the door open for an explosion of alewife that died off en masse and became the plague of beachgoers in the early 1960s. Stocking of non-native Chinook and coho salmon created a world-class recreational fishery in the late 1960s. Fishery managers have been trying to maintain an optimal balance of predators and prey since salmon declines due to bacterial kidney disease (BKD) in the 1980s. With the explosion of new exotics like quagga mussel and round goby and decreases in open water nutrients over the past twenty years, old assumptions about the lake’s productivity are being revised.
All of this makes management a difficult proposition. States and tribes around Lake Michigan serve on the Lake Michigan Committee, which adopted Fish Community Objectives (FCOs) in 1995. The lake has changed a lot since then, and some key objectives (like total harvest of all salmon and trout species) have fallen below target levels in recent years.
Individual states have worked within the framework of the FCOs. In the past, states have accomplished this on a species-by-species basis. Now Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is working to develop a more comprehensive and holistic approach to managing the lake.
Visit the Lake Michigan Management plan website to view the draft plan and submit comments online.
What to expect
The agenda for the public meetings includes:
- Brief overview of management plan and how to comment.
- Brief overview of zonal management.
- Describe and discuss stocking options.
- Have participants pick their most preferred option.
Meeting times and locations
Three meetings are planned:
- November 28, 2017: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Comfort Inn Conference Room, 617 E. Lake Shore Dr., Manistique, MI 49854
- November 29, 2017: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Boardman River Nature Center, 1450 Cass Road, Traverse City, MI 49685
- November 30, 2017: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Ave., Grand Haven, MI 49417
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