Michigan’s sportfishing industry is valued at more than $4 billion. The Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries Division works to improve and sustain this economic driver by protecting and enhancing aquatic life and habitats. A critical component of this work is fish stocking, which begins with taking eggs.
Each year Fisheries Division staff collects and fertilizes eggs from various fish species, including wild walleye in the Muskegon River and wild steelhead migrating to the Little Manistee River. These fertilized eggs are reared in hatcheries and rearing ponds throughout the state and eventually stocked to create and enhance fisheries in Michigan’s waters.
Of all the walleye stocked in Michigan, 80 percent comes from the Muskegon River’s egg-take efforts. Of the steelhead stocked in Michigan, 100 percent comes from the egg-take efforts at the Little Manistee River weir. The goal for 2014 was to collect enough eggs during these efforts to stock 16 million walleye and more than 1 million steelhead later this year.
“There is a very short window of opportunity Fisheries Division staff has to collect walleye and steelhead eggs in order to optimize survival and growth in our hatcheries and rearing ponds,” said DNR Lake Michigan basin coordinator Todd Kalish. “In a typical year these egg-take efforts occur over the course of a week to collect and process about 600 mature walleye and 2,000 mature steelhead.”
However, this was not a typical year given the near record water flows and flooding that has occurred in many Michigan rivers. On the Muskegon River, access sites and bridges were closed, while the Little Manistee River weir facility was threatened due to extreme erosion caused by the high water levels. As a result of these extreme conditions, Fisheries Division staff implemented emergency protocols and mobilized diverse staff resources to work unconditional hours and days to assure egg-take quotas were met.
Fisheries Division staff worked all day and most of the night on Monday, April 21, to meet the entire steelhead egg-take quota for 2014, and worked Easter weekend in high-water conditions to meet the Muskegon River walleye egg-take quota.
As a result, the anticipated stocking numbers for walleye and steelhead will not be affected by this spring’s adverse weather conditions.
“The dedication and skill exhibited by Fisheries Division staff to assure egg-take quotas were met under extreme circumstances exemplifies the fact that Michigan not only has world-class resources, but also that we have world-class employees,” said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Jim Dexter. “They are committed to serving our stakeholders and enhancing the state’s aquatic resources for current and future generations.”
To learn more about Michigan’s fish production system (including stocking and egg takes), visit www.michigan.gov/fishing.
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