Expect Fewer Lake Michigan Salmon Catches

salmon by Megan Stevens stock.xchng

Wildlife management biologists set about to reduce the number of salmon in Lake Michigan. In 2006 they stocked fewer coho in the lake. And the smaller annual catches are beginning to show as a result.

Some folks might be tempted to say that the Lake Michigan fishery is collapsing. There is a lot of talk about small organisms at the bottom of the food chain doing poorly, and people conclude that this is the cause of the salmon decline.

However, in an effort to prevent the kind of top-down collapse which occurred in Lake Huron from having too many salmon, predators at the top of the food chain, the decision was made to reduce the salmon population in Lake Michigan.

Randy Claramunt of the Michigan DNR says, "to find the salmon in Lake Michigan, you're going to have to do what the best anglers have always done-- find the bait."

from the Ludington Daily News, "Salmon Decline Planned", by Brian Mulherin, Jan 12, 2008 (article not available on line)
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