The Department of Natural Resources today announced the totals from its annual walleye rearing pond harvest and stocking of walleye fingerlings. The DNR’s Fisheries Division and tribal partners stocked nearly 4.7 million walleye fingerlings in more than 110 water bodies located throughout Michigan this spring and summer.

Walleye ponds are a critical component of the DNR’s coolwater fisheries management and have been used extensively since the mid-1970s. More than 30 walleye ponds located throughout Michigan were used this year, and most rely heavily on the support of local sportsmen’s organizations.  These groups assist with the ponds’ finances and supply volunteers to help with fertilization, pond maintenance and fish harvest. Read more

The Department of Natural Resources will conduct a trawl survey in Lake Erie near Monroe, Michigan, beginning Monday, Aug. 10, and continuing through Friday, Aug. 14.

“This survey is a new component of the DNR’s annual efforts to assess the fish community in Lake Erie,” said Todd Wills, Lake Huron-Lake Erie area research manager for the DNR. “The data from this survey will be used to describe the status of prey fish populations, assess the abundance of juvenile walleye and yellow perch in Michigan waters, and continue our monitoring efforts for invasive species.”

A trawl, which looks like a large, mesh sock, will be towed on the lake bottom behind the research vessel (R/V) Channel Cat, which has a home port at the Lake St. Clair Fisheries Research Station in Harrison Township, Michigan. A number of sites will be sampled in Michigan waters, from the mouth of the Detroit River to the Turtle Island area along the Michigan-Ohio border. The trawl is towed for five to 10 minutes at each site and then hauled on board the vessel. The catch is then sorted, identified and measured.  Read more

The Department of Natural Resources today announced the final totals from its spring fish-stocking efforts. DNR fisheries staff stocked a total of 20,099,988 fish that weighed more than 325 tons and consisted of nine different species and one hybrid.

To complete this task, staff took more than 370 stocking trips to 732 stocking sites, traveling more than 100,000 miles over the course of 2,556 hours using 17 specialized stocking trucks.

“It was another outstanding spring stocking season that will bring significant benefits and fishing opportunities to Michigan,” said Ed Eisch, DNR fish production manager. “Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff, fish were reared and delivered to stocking sites in excellent condition. The numbers produced and stocked were right on target for almost all areas.”

The number and type of fish stocked vary by hatchery, as each location’s ability to rear fish varies because of water supplies and temperature. In Michigan there are six state and two cooperative hatcheries that work together to produce the species, strain and size of fish needed by fisheries managers. These fish must then be delivered at a specific time and location for stocking to ensure their success. Each hatchery stocked the following fish this spring: Read more

Sportsmen frustrated with temporary success of Pebble’s delay tactics for protections to Bristol Bay’s world-class fishery

ANCHORAGE, AK – U.S. District Court Judge Holland today released a ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Pebble Limited Partnership. The ruling allows the case to proceed into discovery and temporarily keeps the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to protect Bristol Bay on hold. Judge Holland did not rule on the merits of the claims, but only that the claims are plausible, and could not be dismissed, as the Environmental Protection Agency had requested in its motion.

Though Pebble has succeeded in temporarily delaying the protections proposed by the EPA, the facts remain: the EPA has authority under the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay; the people of Bristol Bay and Alaska overwhelmingly oppose the Pebble mine; and if built, Pebble would harm the region’s incredible wild salmon runs. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced that the survey vessel (S/V) Steelhead is back on the water to conduct surveys of Lake Michigan fish populations. The S/V Steelhead will collect data used to estimate relative abundance, biomass, age and growth, health, diet, survival rates, natural reproduction and movements of fish in Lake Michigan.

The S/V Steelhead will be 50 years old in 2017 and has been in continuous operation since 1968 – spending almost 200 days on the water annually. It is used in a variety of fisheries assessment operations – including spring evaluations of adult yellow perch, lake whitefish, lake trout and Chinook salmon populations. Read more