The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is proposing an increase in the number of chinook salmon it stocks in Lake Michigan each year. DNR Lake Michigan Basin Coordinator Jay Wesley tells WSJM News the salmon have been in a better position to thrive in the lake.
“We’re now at about 650,000, and we’d like to increase that to one million,” Wesley said. “It’s mostly because we’re seeing a little bit better alewife population in Lake Michigan. Alewife are small, silvery fish and they’re the primary food source for chinook salmon. Also, anglers love to catch them, so we think it’s a good time to increase stocking and give the anglers what they want.”
Wesley says the chinook salmon population in Lake Michigan has been generally down the last 20 years, bottoming out in 2015. That’s due to invasive mussels depleting resources. However, he says the DNR believes that high alewife population creates an opportunity. The DNR first checks with other states bordering Lake Michigan and Native American tribes before moving forward. The final step will be a public virtual meeting September 19, and the decision will be made shortly after. Anyone who wants to attend the meeting can do so here.
