DNR studying lakers in deepest hole in Superior

[GLF]

MARQUETTE — The study of a lesser-known cousin of the common lake trout has brought officials from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to the deepest depths of Lake Superior.

Every three years, the DNR — in collaboration with several other agencies — surveys the Siscowet, the higher-body fat offshoot of the more common lean lake trout.

“We’re venturing into the abyss, so to speak,†said Shawn Sitar, DNR research biologist at the department’s research station in Harvey.

Lake trout are the dominant native predator fish in Lake Superior. The Siscowet lake trout live at depths of 250 feet or more almost exclusively, Sitar said, while lean lake trout typically live in depths of no more than 300 feet.

Seasonal research assistant Nicole White holds the first fish, a siscowet lake trout, caught at 1,100 feet down about 20 miles north of Munising aboard Research Vessel Judy during a siscowet lake trout survey recently. (DNR photo)

As part of the study, DNR officials catch the fish with nets, measure their size and weigh, take stomach samples and cell structures from the fish to age them, check their reproductive organs to see if they’re mature and take tissue samples, Sitar said.

“We study the basic biology, look at what they eat, their reproductive status, their age,†Sitar said. “We’ve found these animals up over 40 years old. They’re very slow growing, living in an extreme environment.â€

The research vessel “Judy†has already transported a DNR research crew to drop nets in a portion of Lake Superior that’s roughly 1,100 feet deep — according to Sitar, likely the deepest depth a net has been dropped in the lake.

This week, however, the research crew is scheduled to travel about 23 miles north of Munising to drop a net in the deepest recorded portion of Lake Superior — about 1,330 feet, Sitar said.

Part of the impetus for the study is to determine if the Siscowet has impacted the population of the lean lake trout — a more desirable fish for catching and consumption, Sitar said.

However, the Siscowet tend to stay in the deepest portions of the lake, he said.

“I don’t think the Siscowet are overtaking lean lake trout habitat, as some are speculating,†Sitar said.

The DNR also plans to tag some of the fish to study their migration patterns.

[Satisfaxion_Gauranteed]

How in the world do you catch a fish 1100' down? WOW

:-)

[GLF]

How in the world do you catch a fish 1100' down? WOW

:-)

There is no light penetration that far down. The only way for a fish to sense a bait that deep is by vibration, smell, or glow in the dark lure.