MI DNR: End most salmon planting in Lake Huron

[News]

State fishery biologists have recommended eliminating Chinook salmon stocking in most parts of Lake Huron next year.

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[GLF]

"At the peak of the fishery, more than 120,000 salmon were pulled from Lake Huron in one year. Last year barely 3,000 were caught. That's because of major shifts in the food web caused by invasive mussels. The Department of Natural Resources says it now appears the changes are permanent."

[tltorrice]

It would seem that the alwife and smelt population would increase with out the predator fish like salmon.

[Twill23]

With the HUGE increase in smelt numbers in the past several years, and the decrease of salmon fisherman targeting the species, this could be one the BEST decisions the MDRN could possibly make. This is finally giving the fishery a chance to rebound(which i firmly believe is already in it's first steps, dont believe me check out some of my brown trout reports from this yea). A combination of things killed the fishery, quagga mussels, and overstocking being one of them. Biologists were greatly mistaken when they believed that farm raised salmon would not reproduce naturally. I firmly believe it's going to be fixed and we're just looking at a normal cycle(we're lake michigan in the 1980's )