The Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries Division will be hard at work this fall and winter gathering the necessary eggs for the continued production of hatchery fish to support fisheries management objectives for Michigan’s world-class fisheries. Fall egg takes will start or already are under way for wild Chinook and coho salmon and for captive broodstocks of brown, rainbow, brook and lake trout.
Chinook salmon eggs are being collected at the Little Manistee River Weir through Oct. 9. Coho salmon eggs will be collected at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery Weir Oct. 15-21.
“From these wild egg sources, we plan to collect 3.9 million Chinook salmon eggs and 4.9 million coho salmon eggs,” said Ed Eisch, DNR acting fish production manager. “The number of Chinook salmon eggs is the same as it was last year, with stocking in Lake Michigan to remain at 2013 levels.”
Of the Chinook salmon eggs collected, 2.7 million will be used in Michigan while 400,000 will go to Indiana and 800,000 to Illinois. Of the coho salmon eggs collected, 3 million will be used in Michigan while 1 million will go to Indiana and 900,000 to Illinois.
Captive broodstock egg takes for brook and lake trout are in progress until the end of October at the Marquette State Fish Hatchery. Similarly at Oden State Fish Hatchery, egg takes for brown trout have just started and will continue until mid-November. That will be followed by rainbow trout egg takes at Oden starting in December and continuing until mid-January. All captive egg takes occur every one to two weeks.
Captive broodstocks will provide 220,000 brook trout eggs; 310,000 lake trout eggs; 3.3 million brown trout eggs and 1 million rainbow trout eggs. An additional 440,000 splake eggs (brook trout and lake trout hybrid) also will be collected to support Michigan’s fisheries management objectives.
The public is welcome to observe egg-take efforts. It is best to call ahead to get the final egg-take schedule and to ensure the collection efforts will occur. Scheduling information is available for each egg take and can be obtained by contacting each facility directly:
